For the second year in a row, ESPN and Poker Central are teaming up to broadcast the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event. Combined, the two will air “start to finish everyday coverage” of the granddaddy of all poker tournaments from July 2nd through July 14th. Last week, ESPN and the WSOP released the broadcast schedule for ESPN and ESPN2.
During the times that the WSOP is not airing on the ESPN family of networks, Poker Central will stream coverage on its subscription program, PokerGO. PokerGO will not show coverage that ESPN airs, nor will ESPN broadcast anything that PokerGO airs. They will complement each other, not overlap. In addition to the Main Event, ESPN and Poker Central will also air the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop.
“Last year, both ESPN viewership and PokerGO subscription numbers were very strong throughout the WSOP Main Event,” said JR McCabe, chief digital officer of Poker Central, in a press release. “This year, we’re doubling down on live coverage of the World Series of Poker by adding the Big One for One Drop and bringing even more live poker to fans worldwide.”
The ESPN schedule:
July 2 – 8:00 PM – 1:00 AM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 1A – ESPN2
July 3 – 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 1B – ESPN2
July 4 – 8:30 PM – 12:00 AM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 1C – ESPN2
July 5 – 10:00 PM – 12:00 AM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 2A/B – ESPN2
July 6 – 8:30 PM – 12:00 AM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 2C – ESPN2
July 7 – 6:00 PM – 10:30 PM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 3 – ESPN2
July 8 – 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 4 – ESPN
July 9 – 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 5 – ESPN2
July 10 – 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 6 – ESPN
July 11 – 12:30 AM – 2:00 AM ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 7 – ESPN2
July 12 – 9:00 PM – END ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 8 – ESPN (Final Table – 9 to 6 players)
July 13 – 9:00 PM – END ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 9 – ESPN (Final Table – 6 to 3 players)
July 14 – 9:00 PM – END ET – WSOP Main Event: Day 10 – ESPN (Final Table – 3 players to champion)
July 17 – 12:00 AM – 2:00 AM ET – WSOP Big One for One Drop: ESPN2 (Live)
July 17 – 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET – WSOP Big One for One Drop: ESPN2 (Tape replay)
July 17 – 9:00 PM – END ET – WSOP Big One for One Drop: ESPN2 (Live)
July 21 – 11:00 PM – 1:00 AM ET – WSOP Big One for One Drop: ESPN2 (Tape replay)
ESPN will also broadcast another 130 hours of “originally produced” episodes, meaning not live poker. Poker Central’s broadcast schedule will be released at a later date.
“We’re ecstatic that ESPN and Poker Central continue to raise the bar and deliver more live poker content to audiences across the globe,” said World Series of Poker executive director Ty Stewart. “Fans today demand immediacy and wall-to-wall coverage and this year’s offering delivers on that in spades.”
No pun intended.
