Epic Poker League Inks Television Partnerships

The Epic Poker League filled one of the competition’s biggest gaps Wednesday, as the league announced a television deal with CBS and a second network that will put the professional poker tour in television. A total of 20 hours of programming was included in the deal, which will include all five tournaments in the first year of league action.

For the most part, however, you won’t see EPL coverage on your local CBS station. The majority of coverage will be seen on Velocity, a new Discovery Communications cable network. Velocity has been pitched as a network marketed at high-income males, with shows about high end cars and other luxury items and events dominating the programming schedule. Velocity will be launching in October.

According to reports, CBS has pegged veteran announcer Pat O’Brien to be the host of the Epic Poker League events on their television coverage. O’Brien has experience announcing for many different sporting events, including the Olympics.

The coverage will see seven hours of poker on CBS this season, with the remaining 13 hours of coverage on Velocity.

The Epic Poker League will begin its first season in just over a week, with the Pro-Am portion of their first event beginning on August 5^th. The Pro-Am event will allow all final table finishers to play in the Main Event, which begins August 9^th. Players can also take part in a charity tournament between the two more competitive events.

The majority of players in each Main Event will qualify based on their recent and lifetime results in high-stakes poker tournaments. Depending on their qualifications, top professionals can earn two, three, or five year tour exemptions.

All events in the first season will take place at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. There will be four regular season events, as well as a Championship tournament that will take place in February. The league is headed by Commissioner Annie Duke and CEO Jeffrey Pollack.