Poker Central And ESPN Announce Live Broadcast Schedule For Annual World Series of Poker In 2020

LAS VEGAS, NV (February  20, 2020) – Today, Poker Central and ESPN announced their live coverage schedule for the upcoming 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP), including everyday live footage of the WSOP Main Event running July 1st through July 14th. As part of the ongoing partnership between the brands and following their successful broadcast of last year’s 50th World Series of Poker event, ESPN and Poker Central will telecast at least 40 hours of live WSOP coverage with an additional 90 hours of originally produced episodes. The WSOP Main Event remains the most prestigious tournament on the poker calendar and one of the most popular for viewers around the world.

Consistent with its multi-platform approach to producing and delivering content, Poker Central’s direct-to-consumer OTT service PokerGO will stream exclusive WSOP Main Event coverage outside of the ESPN broadcast windows. PokerGO will also offer a collection of other WSOP bracelet events throughout the weeks leading up to and during the Main Event. The full streaming schedule for the World Series of Poker will be announced closer to the series.

“For the past four years, our partnership with ESPN has been centered on creating the ultimate fan experience by providing wire-to-wire coverage of the World Series of Poker Main Event,” said JR McCabe, chief business officer of Poker Central. “We look forward to another year of bringing poker’s premier event to fans all across the globe.”

“ESPN’s yearly World Series of Poker coverage has proven to be an annual favorite with our poker fans,” said Rob Temple, senior vice president of programming and acquisitions, ESPN. “Through our partnership with Poker Central, we look forward to another season of extensive broadcast coverage of the most popular poker event on earth.”

The current broadcast schedule of the 2020 World Series of Poker Main Event on ESPN/ESPN2 is below:

*The scheduling including dates, times, and specific events is subject to change. 

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 $3.29 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 2019, the event attracted 187,298 entrants from 118 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and awarded more than $293 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.