CBS Sports Is the World Poker Tour’s New Broadcast Partner
The World Poker Tour (WPT), a series of international poker tournaments and associated television shows that began operations in the United States in 2002, has announced a new multi-year deal with CBS Sports. The network will become WPT’s exclusive television partner for premiere episodes.
Final table action of 2024s WPT World Championship will soon be broadcast on CBS Sports. © TechLine, Pixabay
Founded by former producer and director Steve Lipscomb, the WPT began with the intention to bring poker to a broader audience through televised poker tournaments. The first event was the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio, Las Vegas.
Won by Gus Hansen, the 146-player $10,000-entry competition set the tone for future high-stakes poker events. In comparison, Daniel Sepiol collected $5,282,954 for winning the season-ending 2023 WPT Championship.
Sharing a Wealth of Premium Poker Programming
The poker landscape has changed considerably, and the World Poker Tour now stops in Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia. The WPT World Championship remains the undisputed highlight of the WPT calendar.
Taking place in December in Las Vegas, the Championship offers record-breaking guarantees. 2023’s version featured a massive $40,000,000 promise. 2024’s event, hosted by Wynn Las Vegas, will be marked by a $5,000,000 freeroll starting December 13.
Largest. Guarantee. Ever. 💰
$40,000,000!
The @WPT World Championship will shatter records this December and we want YOU to be part of history!
1. Follow @wpt_global
2. Retweet
3. Comment "#40MillionDollars"One winner receives a $12,400 WPT World Championship package! ✈️ pic.twitter.com/AehB2Tk6Uj
— WPT Global (@wpt_global) August 31, 2023
“Since our debut on the Travel Channel back in 2002, our WPT television presence has grown significantly in both production quality and reach,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska when announcing the tour’s switch to CBS. “We are incredibly grateful to partner with a top-tier network and cannot wait to share a wealth of premium poker programming with the vast CBS Sports audience.”
Spectacular Poker Stuff From 70’s CBS
Poker is nothing new to CBS Sports. It broadcasts the World Series of Poker’s main event and other tournaments since 2021. It was also the first network to showcase the WSOP Main Event via its ‘CBS Sports Spectacular’ program throughout the mid-1970s.
CBS Sports will begin broadcasting WPT coverage on November 14. Its debut show will be the playdown and final table of the 2023 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship from season XXI of the WPT. It was the event where a bearded man famously won a ladies tournament!
Throughout the exclusive partnership, CBS Sports Network will ultimately air all Seasons XXII and XXIII episodes, including series featuring the 2023 $40,000,000 guaranteed WPT World Championship and the upcoming ClubWPT Gold $5,000,000 Invitational Freeroll.
The World Poker Tour has not only been instrumental in the mainstream acceptance of poker, but it has also been pivotal in creating a format for televised poker that has been widely emulated. Its history reflects the growth of poker as a spectator sport and the evolving landscape of gambling acceptability globally.
