DSPORT, the Discovery Communication-owned sports channel, has acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast season 2 of the Poker Sports League (PSL), a franchise-based poker league.

The choice of broadcast partner was made after careful evaluation involving multiple bids.

This will be the first ever broadcast of the globally popular sport of poker in India. The tournament will be covered in English to begin with.

“DSPORT’s wide coverage of international sporting properties made it the natural choice. PSL’s biggest challenge has been to overcome preconceived notions and change people’s perception with regards to Poker. Hence, our positioning has been clear from the very start and this will further get established by getting the league broadcasted on a sports channel,” Amit Burman, Co-founder PSL and Dabur India Vice-Chairman, said.

In December, PSL had roped in chess master Viswanathan Anand as its brand ambassador.

TS Panesar, Head of DSPORT business, said, “Poker is broadcast on sports channels across the globe since 1978. In India, this will be a first and considering that PSL is the world’s first franchise-based poker league, we are excited to partner with them.”

The league has received a commitment of ₹150 crore spread over the next eight years and has 12 franchises.

For Season 2, PSL has franchised 12 teams with each team committing close to ₹15 crore over the next eight years. Season 2 has announced a prize pool of ₹3.6 crore, which is a significant increase from the previous edition.

The teams will consist of a total of 10 players each, comprising one mentor/ playing captain, two pro-players, two from free live qualifiers, three from free online qualifiers and two wild-card entries.

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