World Of Series Of Poker Signs New Four-Year Deal

The World Series of Poker. has signed a new four-year deal keeping the program on ESPN and eliminating the "November Nine" format. The network will provide start to finish coverage of the event, which will all take place in July.

The event will still be at the Rio.

The announcement also disclosed that the global television and digital rights to the tournament have been acquired by Poker Central. ESPN and ESPN2 will broadcast about 40 hours of the event, which gets underway on July 8.

Due to regulations, the event will be broadcast on a 30-minute tape delay.

"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."

As part of the agreement, Poker Central will offer sponsorship opportunities and commercial inventory.

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"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."

Image via World Series of Poker.