Epic Poker League Makes Epic Deal With CBS Sports, Discovery Channel

The newly formed Epic Poker League has scored an amazing feat, joining forces with CBS Television and the Discovery Channel.  The announcement was made earl Wednesday morning.

The first airing will take place on The Velocity Network, described as an “upscale male lifestyle network” that is slated to take over Discovery’s HD Theatre on October 4, 2011.  13 hours of original Epic Poker League programming will be aired on that cable outlet while an additional seven hours of more riveting re-aired episodes will appear on CBS Sports. 

“Epic Poker is proud to partner with CBS Television and Discovery Communications in our inaugural season,” said Jeffrey Pollack in an interview with PokerNews.com. Pollack is the executive chairman of the EPL and its parent company, Federated Sports + Gaming. “Both companies share our commitment to providing a world-class stage and significant new exposure for poker’s most talented live tournament players.”

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Famed female poker pro and Celebrity Apprentice runner-up Annie Duke will act as the new league’s Commissioner. 

The CBS Sports cable outlet was initially dedicated exclusively to college sports 24 hours a day, but expanded into all sports on April 4, 2011. It is affiliated with the website CollegeSports.com and its network of 215 official college websites.  Unlike ESPN’s “almost live” coverage of the World Series of Poker, CBS Sports cable outlet does broadcast in Canada via Bell Fibe TV and Rogers Cable.

AT&T U-verse added the network last year.  A DirecTV agreement entered into on February 2009 helped boost the distribution of CBS Sports by 30 million subscribers. 

The Epic Poker League kicks off next month (August) at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.

- Ace King, Gambling911.com