ESPN Expanding WSOP Coverage
Written on 5/4/11 By Recentpoker.com staff writer Anthony Aperman :
ole cards to be shown for the first time in WSOP coverage
The Walt Disney Co.owned ESPN television sports channel announced an expansion in the World Series of Poker main event TV coverage, this week.
Six days of the World Series of Poker will be shown in same-day coverage on half-hour tape delay with hole cards shown for the first time.
Days three through eight of the WSOP main event, scheduled for July 14-19, will feature 34 hours of "live" poker on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com featuring unedited play and hole cards.
The 30-minute delay coverage on ESPN2 (and simulcast on ESPN3.com) will only include hole cards postflop. There will be two feature tables, and coverage will shift between the tables every 30 minutes, but any "all-in and call" situations will be included.
"For the first time viewers at home will have the best seats in the house for the World Series of Poker, poker's premier event. Fans will see hole cards post flop and get an inside look at all of the strategy, angst and competition of the world's best players vying for a seat at the most prestigious final table in the sport," said Matthew Volk, ESPN manager of programming and acquisitions.
"This is a historic milestone for ESPN and the WSOP," WSOP executive director Ty Stewart said. "The addition of live event-style coverage with hole cards in July and primetime shows leading up to the crowning of a champion in November provide our fans more access than ever before, and we are extremely proud to be with a company dedicated to realizing the potential of the game."
"This is a long-awaited step to get live poker on television, and it represents another good collaboration between Caesars, the WSOP Players Advisory Council and ESPN to create a production format that maintains the integrity of the tournament while giving fans what they want to see," said Barry Greenstein, member of the WSOP Players Advisory Council.
The expansion in TV coverage comes after an announcement from ESPN that actioned the "removal of related poker advertising and programming pending further review" following the recent U.S. DoJ action against online poker firms Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars in past weeks.
Kantar Media estimated the two companies collectively spent $26.8 million in 2010 on TV advertising.
