The WSOP and ESPN have signed a multi-year agreement returning the $10,000 Main Event to ESPN for the first time since 2020. The deal delivers approximately 100 hours of annual coverage starting July 2, with a live three-night finale airing August 3 to 5 at 9 PM ET.
This is the first major broadcast move under NSUS Group, which completed the $500 million WSOP acquisition in October 2024 and also owns GGPoker. Our detailed GGPoker review and rakeback breakdown covers everything players need to know. The ESPN return signals how aggressively the new ownership is investing in growth.
Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions will produce the coverage. The company behind the ManningCast and Netflix’s Quarterback series will bring its character-driven storytelling approach to the poker table.
“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.” – Ty Stewart, WSOP CEO
This follows the full 2026 WSOP schedule released in February, which confirmed the delayed final table format but left the broadcast partner unnamed until now.
What the Deal Includes
The jump in airtime is stark. CBS Sports Network aired roughly 15 hours of Main Event content per year from 2021 to 2025. ESPN’s commitment to approximately 100 hours annually, confirmed in the official WSOP press release, is more than a six-fold increase.
Coverage will stream live on the ESPN App from Day 1A onward, with three simultaneous featured tables during the early rounds. Edited episodes will air on ESPN’s linear networks throughout the series.
During the 20-day break between final table formation and the finale, ESPN will broadcast curated primetime episodes profiling each of the nine finalists. The live finale runs three consecutive nights at 9 PM to midnight ET.
Key dates: Main Event Day 1A starts July 2. Final table of nine formed July 13. Twenty-day break with curated ESPN episodes. Live three-night finale August 3 to 5 (9 PM to midnight ET).
The 20-Day Cliffhanger
The delayed final table echoes the November Nine format that ran from 2008 to 2016. That version paused play for roughly 117 days once nine players remained. It boosted viewership by more than 50% but was scrapped because the four-month gap let finalists hire coaching teams.
The 2026 version is far tighter at just 20 days. WSOP CEO Ty Stewart described it as a “spiritual successor” that is “long enough to build hype, but short enough to maintain momentum.”
During the break, ESPN will air specially produced episodes profiling each finalist’s journey through the Main Event. The key changes to the 2026 Main Event format now have their missing piece: a network to broadcast them.
Why GGPoker Players Should Pay Attention
GGPoker and the WSOP brand now sit under the same ownership group. The half-billion-dollar deal that merged poker’s biggest brands was built for exactly this: ESPN coverage driving field size, and bigger fields driving prize pools. In 2024, a record 10,112 entries generated a prize pool exceeding $90 million.
GGPoker is the exclusive international online satellite path into the Main Event. The WSOP Express satellite system starting at just $0.50 reaches a $10,000 seat in four steps, with free entries available through daily logins and cash game play.
In 2025, GGPoker sent over 1,000 qualifiers to the Main Event and offers a $1,000,000 bonus to any qualifier who takes down the title. For players building a satellite tournament strategy, the pathway is already open.
ESPN and the Moneymaker Effect
ESPN first broadcast the WSOP in 1987. The partnership peaked between 2003 and 2006 when Chris Moneymaker’s $2.5 million Main Event win, captured and rerun relentlessly by ESPN, triggered the poker boom.
The numbers tell the story. The Main Event drew 839 entries in 2003. By 2006, that figure had reached 8,773: a ten-fold increase in four years driven almost entirely by television exposure.
ESPN dropped the WSOP after 2020, and CBS Sports Network took over with a fraction of the airtime. Our dedicated WSOP guide covers the full broadcast timeline, and the pattern is clear: mainstream coverage grows the game. NSUS and ESPN are betting on that cycle repeating.
Satellites are running now on GGPoker, and coverage begins July 2. Players who want to qualify for the first ESPN-broadcast Main Event in six years should start grinding the WSOP Express ladder today.
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