FSN to Expand World Poker Tour Coverage for Season Ten

Fox Sports Net has announced that they will not only be covering Season Ten of the World Poker Tour, but that they will be extending their television coverage in order to give fans a deeper look inside the world’s most prestigious poker tour.

Coverage of the tenth season of the WPT will begin on February 12. Most tournaments will feature three hour-long episodes, increasing the total number of episodes to 37 from 26 last season.

The increased coverage is a direct result of the excellent ratings received by last season’s WPT programs. The WPT decided last year to include more coverage of tournament before the final table, which proved to be a hit among audiences. In addition, the WPT reacted to the success of the World Series of Poker’s live coverage by providing live final table streams of many tournaments online, which may have resulted in added interest in the edited coverage later shown on television. In all, Fox Sports Net saw a 30% increase in viewership over pervious seasons.

“The steadfast effort put into revamping the World Poker Tour last season was rewarded with resounding fan and viewer support,” said WPT President Adam Pliska “For Season X we’re giving our audience even more reason to tune in each week.”

Although coverage will be expanded for Season Ten, most of the production will seem familiar to longtime fans of the WPT. Commentary will be provided by Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, who have been with the tour since the first season. They’ll be joined by Tony Dunst, who would provide commentary in a segment known as Raw Deal. Anchoring the coverage will be Kimberly Lansing. Season Ten will also see the return of the popular Royal Flush Girls.