ESPN’s Plan to Reinvigorate World Series of Poker Coverage

Final Table to Be Played Months After Rest of Tournament

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/1/2008 3:38:00 PM

Looking to deliver a fresh format to its World Series of Poker coverage, ESPN worked with tournament organizers and the WSOP Players Advisory Council to change the structure of the tournament, with the final table to be played months after the rest of the tournament has ended.

ESPN will televise World Series of Poker events beginning in July, concluding with the final table Nov. 11. For the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event, the final nine players (the final table) will face off Nov. 9 and the final two will compete the evening of Nov. 10, nearly four months after the completion of the tournament.

ESPN will set the stage with a one-hour preview show Nov. 4 and will televise the final table in a two-hour special Nov. 11, with a turnaround of less than 24 hours after the winner is crowned.

A spokesperson for ESPN said the move was made in part to build suspense among viewers, who in previous years could find out who the winner was during the summer, months before the show made it to ESPN.

"It's an exciting time for the World Series of Poker and ESPN," said Jamie Horowitz, senior producer for ESPN Content Development. "This adjustment will add a new element to a very successful and popular event. We look forward to documenting all of the exciting stories that make the Main Event the seminal competition in all of poker."