CBS Sports The New Home Of World Series Of Poker Main Event: 'We Have A History With This Tournament And We're Excited To Rekindle It'

(CBS Local)- CBS Sports is the new television home of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). PokerGo and CBS Sports  announced today that CBS Sports will be the exclusive domestic home for the Main Event and other select WSOP Bracelet Events.

CBS Sports Network will have the full fifteen hours of coverage of the main even to go along with another 36 hours of 18 other "Gold Bracelet" events throughout the season.

The partnership is a throw back to the past as CBS Sports was the first to broadcast poker in the U.S., including the WSOP "Main Event" on its CBS Sports Spectacular program throughout the 1970s.

"CBS Sports has long been a pioneer in covering a broad range of championship sports," said Ty Stewart, WSOP Executive Director in a press release. "We couldn't be more excited to see increased television coverage of the WSOP in the coming years and benefit from their growing media platforms."

"We have a history with this competition and with this tournament, and we're excited to rekindle it," said Dain Weinberg, Executive Vice President of Programming for CBS Sports in an interview. "The deal makes a lot of sense for us, because at CBS Sports we really target best-in-class brands for all our partnerships with properties. This checks that box. It's a brand that has a lot of prestige and recognition across the country, both for hardcore poker players and just casual sports fans, because it's been an institution for so long. It brings the best players in the world, the best play in the world. So there's an excitement level and the drama associated with it."

Weinberg says that there's currently no plans for future events to air on CBS Television Network but, the WSOP coverage will extend across other ViacomCBS platforms including Paramount+ with full details on that coverage to come in future months.

The WSOP is the top brand associated with poker and, with a big cash prize, attracts some of the best players from around the world.

"It's a prize that any poker player seeks," said Weinberg. "Our deal encompasses the main event, which is the brass ring, if you will, of competitive poker. A lot of them are bracelet events also. We'll be doing more than 50 total hours of original programming attached to the World Series of Poker, which will include 15 hours of main event coverage, with the rest being bracelet events."

Full details on this year's WSOP schedule are still to come, but poker is back on CBS Sports.