World Poker Tour (WPT) fans can tune in to CBS Sports Network starting this month to watch upcoming WPT televised shows.
The major cable network and the popular poker tour, according to a press release, have agreed to a multi-year television deal. Action will begin on CBS Sports Network with edited episodes of the WPT's Season XXI.
CBS Sports Network has been home to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) since 2021 (previously ESPN). The sports channel will add WPT events to its television lineup beginning in November.
Season XXI, which took place in 2023, featured some memorable moments, including the $40 million prize pool WPT World Championship at Wynn. Dan Sepiol took it down for a life-changing $5.3 million. Poker fans who haven't watched or want to relive that historic event can do so in the coming months on CBS Sports Network.
The cable channel will first air the 2023 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship, a tournament that began in South Florida and concluded at the final table in Las Vegas in May with Josh Reichard taking it down for $839,300. Reichard, who captured his first World Poker Tour title, defeated Landon Tice heads-up.
“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. “We are incredibly grateful to partner with a top-tier network and cannot wait to share a wealth of premium poker programming to the vast CBS Sports audience.”
The World Poker Tour, a Steve Lipscomb creation, launched in 2002 on, as Pliska said, the Travel Channel. The poker tour then moved to Fox Sports and FS1 before recently airing on Bally Sports Regional Networks, and is now headed over to CBS Sports Network, which is available on most cable packages, YouTube TV, DIRECTV, and Pluto TV.
WatchWPT, the World Poker Tour's app, also has over 150 past episodes of WPT events archived.
“CBS Sports Network is the ideal partner to elevate WPT TV and expand its reach to new households around the nation,” said Loc Sondheim, WPT VP of Studios, Distribution and Ad Sales. “It’s an honor to bring the excitement of poker to a network that showcases some of the biggest events in sports.”
The current World Poker Tour season, which includes the upcoming WPT World Championship and ClubWPT Gold $5 Million Invitational Freeroll, will ultimately air on CBS Sports Network.
