World Snooker has listened to reason and will stage the Betfred.com World Championship qualifiers in the Badminton Hall of the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
They will therefore be open to the ticket buying public.
Originally, the qualifiers were due to be played in the academy situated in the same building, which does not have room for spectators.
This was because it costs a considerable sum of money to hire the Badminton Hall. As it is, World Snooker will lose money staging the qualifiers there but they have done the right thing.
They received many emails from disgruntled snooker fans and the odd word of caution from a few experienced hands about the backlash that was coming their way.
It’s refreshing that they have listened to what fans want, even if it will leave them out of pocket.
I can understand the governing body not providing seating for qualifying in general. Crowds are usually small and it doesn’t make economic sense.
But the World Championship is different. As anyone who has attended will know, it’s a hugely dramatic few days as players battle to reach the Crucible.
The drama of it all makes it one of the highlights of the year, though for the players it’s more of an ordeal to be endured.
While on the subject, I’ve had a few snooker fans contact me to complain there is no streaming of the qualifiers.
The reason for this is that the deal the previous board signed with 110sporttv is binding for three years – even if the qualifiers are not actually streamed by them.
To me, this is a ridiculous situation. It would be like selling the rights of the FA Cup to ITV and them not showing a single match.
Barry Hearn has much to untangle, and I’m sure he will.
Fans want to watch snooker and should be given as much opportunity to do so as possible.
Playing the world qualifiers in front of the public is the right decision: and I would recommend to anyone going along to watch.
Note: the final round of qualifying will now be on March 12 and 13.
are fold out seats allowed?
ReplyDeleteLee Doyle still manages to harm snooker, even from beyond the grave.
ReplyDeleteWhy could they not use the SWSA??
ReplyDeleteGreat News Dave. Can you just confirm the exact start and end dates for the qualis? I had them finishing on the Tuesday (15th) and need to rejig leave from work if that's now not the case! Thanks, SB.
ReplyDeletebrilliant news!!!!
ReplyDeletePart of the Crucible deal is that Sheffield is 'snooker city' so although the SWSA would be ideal, it is, unfortunately, in Gloucester.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know the qualifiers still start on March 4 and finish on the 12th.
Sorry, they finish on the 13th.
ReplyDeletePretty sure they will now finish on the 13th.
ReplyDeleteJohn A
perhaps the SWSA should get some early qualifiers, give people in different parts of the country the chance to watch
ReplyDeleteHold the last matches at Sheffield
Do Sheffield pay World Snooker to hold the event in their city?
ReplyDeleteaye, very good 1011
ReplyDeletei want some of them in scotland then.
think before you type!
Is Lee Doyle dead?
ReplyDeleteif theres a suitable venue 1031 in scotland for 8 tables at a time , yes why not.....one place should not get all the pieces of the cake
ReplyDeleteWorld Snooker are paying for a venue already
ReplyDeleteWhy would they want to pay for another one as well?
"The reason for this is that the deal the previous board signed with 110sporttv is binding for three years – even if the qualifiers are not actually streamed by them."
ReplyDelete------------------------------------
so that has one more season to run and by 2012/2013 that would have run out ?
This seems a bit unfair to the somewhat bashful players who have excelled in spectator-free conditions over the past few months.
ReplyDeleteI can think of quite a few who have struggled in front of an audience and even more so on TV.
Why should they be penalised buy allowing spectators in, just to appease the voyeuristic nature of society in 2011?
they wouldnt dave
ReplyDeletetho that person posting earlier was being a bit narrow minded and wanted another one closer to them, hence i said i wanted another close to me then.
s/he obviously hadnt thought it through
Eh, if there's a contract surely they have to broadcast the matches?? What sort of contract allows one side not to fulfil its side of the deal?
ReplyDeletewrong betsy, otherwise theyd be being broadcast.
ReplyDeletenext youll wrong-guess the sponsors....
that contract probably said that 110sport are allowed to stream the qualifiers if they want and for that WS received some coin. Guess Sir Rodney didn't care.
ReplyDeleteIn the current climate of Health and Safety I doubt it will happen.
ReplyDeleteThe risk assessors could have a field day, unless all spectators are willing to pay for hard hats and high visability jackets.
Not to mention protective goggles to avoid an errant red ball which might be propelled across the room at great velocity.
I suppose the qualifiers differ from big sports events in that usually in those cases there is a 'host broadcaster' who is responsible for making the pictures available to other rights holders worldwide. The cost of such an operation varies considerably - consider the difference of having a locked-off shot of the whole table, versus the multi-camera shoots we now expect to reveal the angles in snooker. Many fans would probably cope with a single shot as being preferable to nothing, but it would be very hard to sell it to anyone else so World Snooker would probably have to do it themselves, absorbing the cost of cameras and streaming which would add to the loss being made. It will be interesting to see what happens after the 110 contract runs out: does World Snooker do it as a service to fans, or does someone try to make it turn a profit?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fantastic news, made my week this. Look forward to the qualifiers more than any tournaments bar the Crucible itself and the UK's if I'm honest.
ReplyDeleteGood news this, had given up any hope of being able to see any of the qualifiers this season to be honest.
ReplyDeleteforget any excuses. 110 don't show the qualifiers because they don't have the money to produce the tv. forget contractual problems. no money is the biggest problem.
ReplyDeleteHow much money would it cost to buy 110 sport out of the contract so that Hearn can stream the qualifiers through his own contacts?
ReplyDeleteAlpha
If anyone has a problem with the qualifiers not being shown take it up with Doyle not Hearn. 110 are the ones desperate to get out the deal because they will still be paying a licence for something that is worth nothing
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't cost much to get out of that contract. Just rescind the 3rd year of it and give them back a third of whatever they paid.
ReplyDeleteIf 110 arent happy they can sue for breach of contract and loss of earnings, which would be erm, nowt.
it would cost world snooker money to broadcast the qualifiers. as it stands they will prpbably be making money out of 110 paying the contract. does not help joe public, but if Barry is in to profit making, taking another six figures from 110 makes it a no brainer
ReplyDeleteHearn wanted Perform to stream the qualifiers, so you're entirely wrong (about the figures as well)
ReplyDeleteSo does that mean 110 are out of the deal?
ReplyDeleteIf so why hasn't Perform boradcast anything - or was that down to access?
Perform can't stream the qualifiers because 110sport still hold the rights
ReplyDeleteUnless this is somehow untangled by legal bods the situation will not change until the end of next season