CBS & Discovery To Air New Poker League

CBS and Discovery’s new Velocity Network announced today they have pacted to broadcast 20 hours of the Epic Poker League, a new pro league launching next month in Las Vegas. CBS will air seven hours of original programming, while Velocity will air 13 hours as well as re-air CBS’ episodes. Pat O’Brien will host; dates and airtimes will be announced later. David Neal and 441 Productions (ESPN’s World Series of Poker) are producing. TV networks recently have re-evaluated their poker coverage, which had grown steadily during the past few years to mirror the rise in popularity of online poker sites. In April, a number of those outlets — including show sponsors Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars — were shut down by the FBI and are under investigation for bank fraud and money laundering.