Poker Central And ESPN Announce Live Broadcast Schedule For 50th Annual World Series Of Poker In 2019

Las Vegas, NV – February 13, 2019 – Poker Central and ESPN today released the preliminary live coverage schedule for the 50^th annual World Series of Poker, which includes start to finish everyday coverage of the WSOP Main Event from July 3rd – July 16th. Additionally, PokerGO will offer exclusive WSOP Main Event coverage that is not broadcast during ESPN windows. The full PokerGO WSOP streaming schedule will be announced at a later time.

As part of an ongoing partnership between ESPN and Poker Central, ESPN will telecast at least 40 hours of live WSOP coverage, plus an additional 90 hours of originally produced episodes. Poker Central’s direct-to-consumer OTT service PokerGO will also stream a collection of other WSOP bracelet events throughout the weeks leading up to the Main Event.

“For the third straight year, Poker Central and ESPN will deliver expansive coverage of the WSOP Main Event to a continually growing audience across multiple platforms,” said JR McCabe, chief digital officer of Poker Central. “We again look forward to bringing poker’s pinnacle event to fans around the world.”

“ESPN’s established relationship with the World Series of Poker and Poker Central always brings our audience the top content from this event,” said Rob Temple, senior vice president of programming and acquisitions, ESPN. “It is a consistent hit for ESPN and we take pride in the extensive broadcast coverage we provide the fans from this exciting, fan-favorite tournament.”

“Significant video coverage is one of our key cornerstones,” said Ty Stewart, executive director, World Series of Poker. “We’re grateful to Poker Central and ESPN for continuing to expand the reach of WSOP to today’s platforms and fueling the interest of tomorrow’s champions.”

The planned broadcast schedule of the WSOP Main Event on ESPN/ESPN2 is as follows:

*The scheduling including dates, times, and specific events is subject to change. All events will be streamed on a 30-minute delay with hole cards shown per gaming regulations.

About Poker Central®

Poker Central is the ultimate destination for fans of poker tournaments, cash games, and lifestyle away from the tables. Poker Central delivers poker’s most premier live events around the world via PokerGO, its direct-to-consumer OTT subscription service, as well as through network television distribution. PokerGO delivers over 100 days of live poker on an annual basis alongside a video-on-demand library that features original series and classic poker programming. Streaming and televised tournaments include its owned tournaments, such as Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Masters, and U.S. Poker Open, along with The World Series of Poker and WPT final tables, among others. For more information, visit www.pokercentral.com and www.pokergo.com.

About the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker® is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world, having awarded more than $2.99 billion in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest-running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970.  In 2018, the event attracted 123,865 entrants from 104 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and awarded more than $266 million in prize money. In addition, the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent of the World Series of Poker Europe in 2007 and the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific in 2013 and the WSOP International Circuit Series in 2015. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit www.wsop.com.

About ESPN

ESPN, Inc., is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment enterprise featuring a portfolio of more than 50 multimedia sports assets.  It is comprised of eight U.S. 24-hour television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network and the SEC Network; five with HD simulcast services – ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes). Other businesses include direct-to-consumer video service ESPN+, ESPN Audio (broadcast, satellite, digital, podcasts), an array of digital services (ESPN.com and many other sites, ESPN App, fantasy games and more), multi-screen ESPN3, ESPN International (26 networks, syndication, radio, digital), ESPN The Magazine, consumer products, ESPN Events and espnW. Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Hearst holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.