ESPN will once again broadcast the WSOP (World Series of Poker) Main Event. With a new multi-year partnership agreement in place, the world's largest poker tournament will return to prime time.
The $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event will begin on July 2nd, with broadcasts starting on the first day and concluding with a live-streamed final table.
It is worth noting that this year's final table will be postponed by 20 days and will be held from August 3rd to 5th, which is a brand new adjustment for this event.
Here are the key things poker fans can look forward to watching from home:
- Each tournament day will feature at least 6 hours of broadcast content, covering the entire tournament from Day 1A until the final table is set on July 13th.
- During the 20-day wait before the final table, ESPN will air highlight reels during prime time to keep the excitement going.
- The final table will be streamed live from August 3rd to 5th, starting at 9 PM Eastern Time each night.
- Production will be handled by Omaha Productions, the team behind numerous well-known programs, including *Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli*, *NBA Unplugged with Kevin Hart*, and Netflix's hit documentaries *Quarterback*, *Starting 5*, and *Unreal*.
Overall, the new agreement will bring approximately 100 hours of original WSOP programming annually. The lineup of hosts and commentators has not yet been announced.
"The grandest stage in the sports world"
For many veteran poker players, the golden age of poker was inextricably linked to ESPN broadcasts.
ESPN began broadcasting the WSOP as early as 1978 and witnessed Chris Moneymaker's iconic victory in 2003. This win not only transformed the poker industry but also sparked a global poker craze, widely known as the "Moneymaker effect."
In a time when streaming media was not yet widespread, television broadcasts had a tremendous impact on promoting the sport of poker. This, coupled with the rapid development of online poker, fueled a global poker boom that continues to this day.
In an interview with PokerOrg, renowned commentator Lon McEachern stated, "Back then, the show was broadcast almost 24/7 on ESPN. You could see Farha vs. Moneymaker's final table footage everywhere you went. That year, we only produced 6 hours of main event content, but ESPN aired it a staggering 1,300 times."
In 2021, the WSOP broadcasting rights were transferred to CBS, but in recent years, with the rise of streaming platforms, most events have been broadcast by PokerGO. The subscription platform still offers a large amount of WSOP content on demand, including the 2025 Main Event and 35 side events.
This return to ESPN comes after NSUS Group Inc. acquired the WSOP brand for $500 million in 2024. The company is also the parent company of GGPoker, the world's largest online poker platform.
WSOP CEO Ty Stewart stated when announcing the partnership: "Returning to ESPN—the platform that has hosted countless iconic moments for us since 1987—will allow us to present the Main Event's human element in a way we've never done before. With the support of our new home, now is the perfect time to bring this 'World Championship Series' back to the biggest stage in sports."
ESPN representative Ashley O'Connor added, "Poker is full of unpredictable stories, and what ESPN excels at is bringing those exciting stories to the audience in their entirety."
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