ESPN Offers Same-Day Coverage of WSOP 2011

ESPN is about to provide unprecedented coverage of this year's World Series of Poker; between July 14-19 they will air almost live (30 minutes delayed) coverage, with hole cards and commentary. The broadcast will feature 2 television tables, where the hole cards will be visible (hence the 30 minute delay). According to ESPN, coverage will shift between the tables every 30 minutes, but any "all-in and call" situations will be included.

The WSOP Main Event will be aired by ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com as well. This is the first time ever that ESPN will provide daily "delayed live" coverage of the main event.

The commentators will be Lon McEachern and David Tuchman, who will be accompanied by various poker pros, who will lend their experience to help viewers better understand the game.

The highly anticipated WSOP Heads-Up Rematches, will also be shown from June 2 with just a 5-minute delay, no hole cards shown. Furthermore, ESPN plans to cover the $25,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em Championship starting on June 3, and the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship starting on July 6 as a warm-up to the Main Event.

"This is a historic milestone for ESPN and the WSOP, the addition of live event-style coverage with hole cards in July and primetime shows leading up to the crowning of a champion in November provide our fans more access than ever before, and we are extremely proud to be with a company dedicated to realizing the potential of the game." - WSOP executive director Ty Stewart said.

Barry Greenstein, member of the WSOP Players Advisory Council also expressed his warm welcome for this change: "This is a long-awaited step to get live poker on television, and it represents another good collaboration between Caesars, the WSOP Players Advisory Council and ESPN to create a production format that maintains the integrity of the tournament while giving fans what they want to see."

You can find the exact air dates and details about the broadcasts below: