ESPN expands World Series of Poker coverage
- Comments: (1)
- Published May 6th, 2011 in News, Poker News, WSOP
With all of the poker shows that were cancelled in the wake of Black Friday it’s nice to see that ESPN is not only keeping, but expanding upon its World Series of Poker coverage in 2011. On Wednesday ESPN announced it would be showing six days of WSOP Main Event coverage on a 30-minute delay, with some hole-card access.
According to ESPN.com:
“Days 3 through 8 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.”
This will mark the first time that a major network has attempted to bring poker “live” which could be the next step in the evolution of televised poker. Other tournaments have flirted with a hole-card delay -The EPT tournaments as well as the PokerStars PCA– but the 30-minute delay that will be used by ESPN is by far the fastest turnover to date, and will be seen by a much wider audience.
ESPN also released a television schedule for the upcoming WSOP which you can find below.
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Network | Hole Cards? |
| Thursday, June 2 | 5 p.m.-4 a.m. | WSOP Grudge Matches | ESPN3.com | No |
| Friday, June 3 | 5 p.m.-4 a.m. | $25,000 Heads-Up | ESPN3.com | No |
| Wednesday, July 6 | 6 p.m.-5 a.m. | $50,000 Poker Players Championship | ESPN3.com | No |
| Thursday, July 14 | 3 p.m.-9 p.m. | WSOP Day 3 | ESPN3.com | No |
| Thursday, July 14 | 11 p.m.-2:30 a.m. | WSOP Day 3 | ESPN2/ESPN3.com | Yes |
| Friday, July 15 | 3 p.m.-9 p.m. | WSOP Day 4 | ESPN3.com | No |
| Friday, July 15 | 11 p.m.-2:30 a.m. | WSOP Day 4 | ESPN2/ESPN3.com | Yes |
| Saturday, July 16 | 3:30 p.m.-10 p.m. | WSOP Day 5 Part 1 | ESPN2/ESPN3.com | Yes |
| Saturday, July 16 | Midnight-2:30 a.m. | WSOP Day 5 Part 2 | ESPN2/ESPN3.com | Yes |
| Sunday, July 17 | 3 p.m.-8 p.m. | WSOP Day 6 | ESPN3.com | No |
| Sunday, July 17 | 10 p.m.-2:30 a.m. | WSOP Day 6 | ESPN2/ESPN3.com | Yes |
| Monday, July 18 | 3 p.m.-7 p.m. | WSOP Day 7 | ESPN3.com | No |
| Monday, July 18 | 7 p.m.-10 p.m. | WSOP Day 7 | ESPN2/ESPN3.com | Yes |
| Monday, July 18 | Midnight-2:30 a.m. | WSOP Day 7 | ESPN2/ESPN3.com | Yes |
| Tuesday, July 19 | 3 p.m.-8 p.m. | WSOP Day 8 | ESPN3.com | No |
| Tuesday, July 19 | 8 p.m.-10 p.m. | WSOP Day 8 | ESPN/ESPN3.com | Yes |
| Tuesday, July 19 | Midnight-4:30 a.m. | WSOP Day 8 | ESPN2/ESPN3.com | Yes |
- Posted in: News, Poker News, WSOP
- Comments: 1
Entertainment value of WSOP Main Event is very low for me. It’s like watching a fantastic foreign film with no subtitles. The commentators do all the talking and we have to be pro poker players to follow the action since we can’t see the hands. I know it’s being broadcast live, but if the coverage of the tournament is rerun before the November final table, I hope it will be more interactive for the viewers.