https://www.cbssports.com/general/ne...th-cbs-sports/

CBS Sports has reached a multi-year rights agreement with PokerGO to become the new television partner for the World Series of Poker Main Event and various WSOP Bracelet Events. Starting in 2021, CBS Sports Network will be the official television home of the WSOP.

Don't way fewer people have that channel?

Not aware of any outlet that carries ESPN and doesn't also carry CBSSN.

Not true I have a very expensive directv package that does not have CBSSN I would have to upgrade even higher

Will be on Paramount Plus also. $8/month I think.

That’s a real bummer. The ESPN broadcasts were a big part of the popularity of these events. Crazy how much time had passed since the poker boom.

Sucks

When I was a SlingTV subscriber they didn't have CBSSN. I doubt that changed since then.

I wish they would have kept it at ESPN and also put stuff on ESPN+.

I'll probably restart my Paramount+ subscription anyway because of Champions League but by now we pay as much for streaming services as others pay for cable. In that case, HBO max has to go though. If you count the Disney bundle as 3 different services, we're already at 8 streaming services. Not counting free stuff like Peacock. That's pretty ridiculous.

This feels like a huge negative for the WSOP brand and especially the main event coverage.

Everybody has tuned into ESPN before. Unless you're into Mountain West Conference sports, or a degenerate gambler, most people aren't viewers of CBSSN.

Definitely questioning if the bean counters that made the decision fully grasp that a quality, accessible TV product is not just a 2nd revenue stream but also a de facto info-mercial to attract the next generation of players.

Okay, let's get down to brass tacks tho:


Norm and Lon?

I resemble that remark, and watch a lot of other networks most people haven't heard of also. lol

I assume most people will watch it on Paramount+ if they indeed show all the programming.

Hopefully this is the end of Lon McEachern being associated with the WSOP brand. Dude still can't read a board and call the action properly after all these years.

I consider this a positive development, the coverage on ESPN has been getting worse every year. There was very little sports on TV in December and they didn’t even show the WSOP Main Event final table live this year.

This isn’t 2003-2005 where we need to be concerned that more people may watch ESPN as opposed to CBSSN, none of that matters these days.

You can pay the indicated cost ?

"To get into Paramount+, you'll need to pay the full Paramount+ price. And there are two options there: The first is $5.99 a month and includes advertising on the on-demand content. Then there's the ad-free version, which gets rid of advertising on nearly every piece of on-demand content. (With the exception of just a couple series.) It costs $9.99 a month. (In June 2021, the $5.99 plan will drop down to $4.99 a month, but also lose access to the live CBS streams.)"...
...
.https://www.whattowatch.com/watching...e-subscription


Not that I care personally. Just curious.

It may or may not be positive for us the fans, but it's certainly a step backwards for the main event as there will be way less eyes on it than in years past.

It certainly makes sense that ESPN wouldn't want the WSOP in 2021 given that the schedule being pushed back to the fall puts it heads up vs the far more viewed college football and NFL.

Is your question, will people pay the $10 ad free to watch WSOP and the other dozen + events they will show?

I get CBS sports network on my cable so won't need to. But if I didn't I would for sure. I will probably get paramount for a month once or twice a year anyway since they are supposed to have a bunch of original programming coming.

Some coverage will be on CBS Sports Network and some will be on Paramount+. This is how these legacy media companies with streaming platforms operate. They want their cake and eat it too.

In that case I will be getting Paramount+ if needed. $10 is nothing to watch 30 or 40 hours of content you want to watch. Plus hopefully they have some of their original content by then.

Correct, and events on Paramount+ will probably be those that ESPN has not televised since 2008. So there's no way anyone can get upset at the option to watch, but some still will.

As far as the Main Event and big events on CBSSN, I'm sure it will be fine. Coverage has gotten worse and tired and a reboot is needed. I'm a little shocked at the negative feedback.

I get how people get angry at all of the different streaming services but I like to look at the big picture. Fifteen years ago I had DirectTV, paid more a month for TV and didn't get everything I want.

Now I do Hulu Live, Netflix, HBO max, and rotate other services now and then. It's so easy to quit and restart, I pay less, and I get more of what I want.

This is obviously worse for wsop/poker

PokerGO to stream about 30% of the FTs like previous years?

Why doesn’t viewership matter anymore? For poker fans, it makes no difference and people will watch it on whichever station. But ESPN is a monster of a network. It is THE sports network and casual poker watchers or those with minimal interest would likely watch a bit if they can’t find anything else on. Since CBSSN has fewer viewers and fewer platforms that carry it, casual viewership will be way down which only adds to the diminished interest in poker.