ESPN Brings World Series of Poker Back After Five-Year Absence
After airing on CBS/Paramount+ for five years, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) will return to ESPN this summer.
According to WSOP CEO Ty Stewart, ESPN and the WSOP announced on Thursday that they have reached a multiyear agreement to bring poker's largest competition "back home." When a 30-year-old Johnny Chan won the main event in 1987, ESPN started airing the event.
From Fringe to Mainstream
When hole-card cameras were introduced in 2003, the WSOP became a remarkably watchable product, and the network helped it transition from a fringe spectacle into the boom years. The "Moneymaker Effect" contributed to a surge in popularity that same year.
Chris Moneymaker, an appropriately named Tennessee accountant, won the main event, turning a $85 internet satellite into $2.5 million. As the first amateur online qualifier to win the title, he gave a generation of players hope that they may follow in his footsteps.
However, the 2004–05 NHL lockout was another frequently disregarded contributing element to the poker boom. Due to a disagreement over the implementation of player wage caps, hockey was canceled that season, leaving ESPN with unfilled programming slots and a demand for inexpensive, replayable entertainment. This led to an unending number of WSOP replays.
The exposure was effective. Episodes frequently received ratings comparable to or higher than those of the NHL, which they briefly replaced, on cable sports.What had previously been a niche interest was now on the verge of becoming a popular sport.
“The legacy of this partnership helped the game explode and we can’t wait to deliver inspiration through world class content to a new generation of viewers,” Stewart said.
Cliffhanger's End
Ashley O'Connor, vise president of programming and acquisitions at ESPN, stated that the agreement was a "meaningful moment for fans and for us" and that the network was "excited to showcase the intensity and unpredictability of this tournament across our platforms."
More than 100 hours of coverage of the Main Event will start on July 2 under the new agreement, followed by a three-night "cliffhanger" final table from August 3–5. In order to generate excitement for the finale, ESPN will broadcast "specially curated prime-time episodes" throughout the break.
Three concurrent tables will be used in early-stage broadcasts, providing greater access to hands from top players as they progress.
There were 152 competitors in the main event and a $625,000 first prize when ESPN first broadcast the Series over 40 years ago. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi won $10 million the previous year after defeating 9,735 competitors.
