Comment by Nigel Slater
It really is the end of an era.
The news this week that Eurosport TV channels will soon be axed in the UK and Ireland marks the end of a cultural part of British TV.
Eurosport has been on our screens for more than 30 years. The channel offered an important sport-watching alternative at a time when Sky Sports was booming.
When Sky Sports burst onto the scene with its then revolutionary live Premier League football coverage and live Test cricket home and away, there was then nobody who really could compete with them.
But the world changes – and over the years Sky’s domination in the UK broadcasting landscape has weakened, allowing other platforms to show what they could do and expand.
And Eurosport over the years has certainly done just that – and it has done snooker very proud.
The essence and idea of Snooker Chat (or The Old Green Baize as this site was initially called) came from a cold winter’s night glued to watching Eurosport.
It was the German Masters final of 2012. Ronnie O’Sullivan was playing Stephen Maguire. I was glued to the action and Joe Johnson’s commentary. I started tweeting about it and then was getting followed back by snooker players and writers – the night will never escape me.
With Sky’s dominance weakening, other channels such as Eurosport were starting to come into their own. Eurosport agreed a big deal with World Snooker Tour to show a series of new Home Nations tournaments as well as continuing to show snooker around the world – giving snooker fans an alternative viewing experience.
Where would snooker be without Eurosport?
You do wonder without Eurosport, just where snooker would be. BBC and ITV do a great job of course but Eurosport rightly had the title “the home of snooker”. They showed more snooker than any other channel.
Eurosport didn’t just show the action but it changed the dynamics of snooker coverage.
Presenters such as Andy Goldstein and Colin Murray really made the snooker coverage their own with their cheeky and chatty personalities standing out.
Add in the likes of Jimmy White, Neal Foulds, Alan McManus and Ronnie O’Sullivan – fans really had a different side to snooker coverage which they could rely on and enjoy. When O’Sullivan has given an opinion from the studio – fans have been quick to tune in.
And it’s fair to say some fans prefer watching Eurosport’s Triple Crown coverage these days in comparison to the BBC. As a snooker observer it is good to have different opinions from different voices.
There was sadness when Murray and Goldstein left the channel. You got the feeling it wouldn’t be the same again. But the likes of Rachel Casey and Radzi Chinyanganya have further encapsulated Eurosport’s presence on the snooker scene along with fine commentators too.
Some of their hard-hitting interviews with snooker players during big events have been wonderful to watch. O’Sullivan has been seen in tears in the Eurosport studio, of course.
Recently in the Masters – just a fortnight ago – Eurosport received deserved praise for its live studio discussion about mental health in snooker, creating headlines in the media.
There’s no two-ways about it – the news week is a blow for snooker fans in UK and Ireland.
The reality is they will have to fork out more under the change with TNT Sports as host broadcaster. The new cost is around £30 per month – a steep rise when there is still a cost of living crisis going on.
There will obviously be snooker still on the BBC and ITV. They do an outstanding job of course. But they only cover UK events – a lot of snooker is now played abroad. And that could increase further if there is a shift for more international events in the calendar moving forward.
Some fans have told Snooker Chat they won’t pay extra to watch the sport. That is a worry – no doubt about it.
Snooker Chat has approached World Snooker Tour for comment but they have declined to do so. There will be reasons for that, but when there’s been discontent from fans walking away – is silence the right answer?
It must be said, the move to TNT Sports may give snooker a boost – it could be great for the game. We will have to wait and see. We look forward to welcoming TNT Sports to the world of snooker.
But the next few weeks should be a celebration of Eurosport and what it has done for snooker. “The home of snooker” channel deserves a huge send off and a big thank you.
