On Wednesday, WSOP.com announced that this summer's Main Event final table will be played already in July! This means that the November Nine concept, which was implemented in 2007, has been sacked and poker fans all over the world will not have to wait four months to watch the final table!
Poker Central® has acquired the global television and digital media rights for this summer's World Series of Poker and they have reached an agreement with ESPN to broadcast all the Main Event action: "ESPN will telecast an estimated 40 hours of live* WSOP Main Event coverage each July, plus a commitment of original packaged shows totaling 130 hours annually. Any coverage not aired by ESPN will be streamed exclusively through Poker Central's digital distribution channels," WSOP.com Editor-In-Chief Seth Palansky reported.
"ESPN has been our home since 2002 and we're delighted to extend the relationship into the next decade," said Ty Stewart, executive director, WSOP. "Having every day live coverage of the WSOP Main Event is truly a huge commitment on behalf of ESPN and Poker Central and we look forward to delivering to our faithful audience wall-to-wall action from the outset for the very first time."
"We are thrilled to add the preeminent poker brand, the World Series of Poker, to our growing portfolio of poker-related content," said JR McCabe, chief digital officer, Poker Central. "We have major plans to reinvent the WSOP offering to greatly expand how, when and where fans of the game of poker can watch and engage with the game."
"The World Series of Poker has been a longstanding staple of ESPN programming," said Dan Ochs, director of programming and acquisitions, ESPN. "We are pleased to reach an agreement to continue to carry the sport's most prominent event and modernize our coverage with the new same day live coverage throughout July each year."
2017 WSOP INFO:
The 48th edition of the World Series of Poker officially opens its doors Tuesday, May 30th, 2017 at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The something-for-everyone schedule includes gold bracelets, satellites, cash games and deep stack tournaments running for 49 consecutive days with the Main Event reaching its final nine players in July 17th, 2017. Nearly 500 poker table will be set up across more than 100,000 square-feet of ballroom space to accommodate the players from around the world who attend poker's annual pilgrimage.
confirmed... same goes if contender is sick, and couldnt play
