No Bluffing! World Series of Poker Returns to ESPN in New Multi-Year Agreement

Poker is heading back to ESPN and its various platforms as they have reached an agreement with the World Series of Poker.

What's Happening:

• ESPN and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) have announced that they have reached a multi-year agreement to bring poker’s most prestigious event back to ESPN platforms.
• The broadcasts will be highlighted by a three-night live linear finale for the Main Event Final Table, Aug. 3-5 from 9 p.m. ET to Midnight ET.
• ESPN will deliver over 100 hours of comprehensive, multi-platform coverage of the WSOP Main Event ($10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship) from 1A of the Main Event beginning July 2 on the ESPN App.
• Additionally, ESPN linear networks will air edited episodes featuring expansive storytelling and programming. 
• ESPN first broadcast the WSOP Main Event in 1987 and has been a broadcast partner in every decade since for some of the most notable victories in WSOP history.
• This new agreement restores the collaboration and gives a new generation of players and fans access to the excitement of the WSOP in prime time.

What They're Saying:

• Ashley O’Connor, Vice President, Programming & Acquisitions, ESPN: “Welcoming the World Series of Poker back to ESPN is a meaningful moment for fans and for us,” said “We’re excited to showcase the intensity and unpredictability of this tournament across our platforms.”
• Ty Stewart, CEO of the WSOP: “No pair beats ESPN and the World Series of Poker. The legacy of this collaboration helped the game explode and we can’t wait to deliver inspiration through world class content to a new generation of viewers.”

Poker and ESPN:

• The World Series of Poker began in 1970 in Las Vegas, but for many years it had very little mainstream media attention. In the late 1970s, ESPN started airing occasional WSOP highlights.
• These early broadcasts were limited, often just recap-style segments rather than full event coverage. Poker was still seen as a niche activity, not a major spectator sport.
• By the 1990s, ESPN began airing more consistent WSOP content, with episodes featuring final tables and key hands, though still edited heavily.
• Commentary helped explain poker strategy to casual viewers, and the broadcasts started building recognizable poker personalities.
• Still, poker hadn’t yet reached mainstream popularity.
• Everything changed in 2003 with Chris Moneymaker, an amateur player who qualified online and eventually won the WSOP Main Event.
• ESPN’s coverage captured his underdog story in a compelling way, and this sparked the “poker boom,” inspiring millions to play.
• At the same time, ESPN introduced innovations like Hole-card cameras, letting viewers see players’ cards, dramatic storytelling and editing, and enhanced commentary, all of which made poker far more engaging to watch.
• By the mid 2000s, WSOP broadcasts became a major ESPN attraction, with the Main Event turned into a multi-episode series. ESPN’s storytelling, by focusing on personalities, rivalries, and dramatic hands, was key to poker’s TV success.