BBC Coverage

[scottley]

Sh1t that word was!

[Dr_Doctor]

The snooker coverage is better off going to Channel 4. I bet they would play it all day since they don't have much on.

[craig147]

Extremely disappointed by the severe lack of coverage on BBC this year, I can remember the day when you would never miss a match as you could choose your table on interactive, I think this year I will be lucky to see a whole match lol. I know we have Eurosport covering most matches and good on them for this but I do prefer BBC and am just so annoyed at them constantly cutting corners and selling us viewers short on their coverage of sporting events. They sold rights to sky for F1 and to be honest I have never looked back (will not please people without sky sports though) so maybe it's time they try and do the same with the WC if they are not willing to air and treat it with the respect it is due !!

[Billy]

[...] so maybe it's time they try and do the same with the WC if they are not willing to air and treat it with the respect it is due !!

I would be really interested to see some answers/feedback from the BBC regarding their apparent loss of interest in snooker. Of course until someone with some clout, i.e. not the general public and/or snooker fans, asks them, I doubt we'll get any.

Barry Hearn is the obvious choice to start asking questions, but I doubt the BBC's interest - or lack of - is of much concern to him. He'll take it to where ever the money is, and if that means shafting the UK tv viewers, so be it.

[iNko]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the BBC showing play from the tables in full with commentary on their website thoughout the WC?

If so I really don't see what all the fuss is about as you can easily just stream from the website and hook a laptop via HDMI to your TV.

At least you have BBC coverage and don't have to watch through crappy advertisement heavy foriegn streams.

[Billy]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the BBC showing play from the tables in full with commentary on their website thoughout the WC?

If so I really don't see what all the fuss is about as you can easily just stream from the website and hook a laptop via HDMI to your TV.

At least you have BBC coverage and don't have to watch through crappy advertisement heavy foriegn streams.

It's not quite the same, iNko, or even the point for me. Apart from what you suggest being a royal pain in the arse, not to mention the stream being of a far inferior picture quality... buffering, freezing and all the other crap you get with webstreams, it's about the BBC's lack of commitment to the sport.

They've said they'll cover the WC until at least 2017, which would suggest their interest and belief in the sport is there, so what gives with their dwindling broadcasts? When you consider that the vast majority of UK households now have digital TV (and access to the red button/interactive) the BBC's decision to drop the two-table choice and a vast chunk of their interactive live coverage just doesn't make sense.

[iNko]

It's not quite the same, iNko, or even the point for me. Apart from what you suggest being a royal pain in the arse, not to mention the stream being of a far inferior picture quality... buffering, freezing and all the other crap you get with webstreams, it's about the BBC's lack of commitment to the sport.

They've said they'll cover the WC until at least 2017, which would suggest their interest and belief in the sport is there, so what gives with their dwindling broadcasts? When you consider that the vast majority of UK households now have digital TV (and access to the red button/interactive) the BBC's decision to drop the two-table choice and a vast chunk of their interactive live coverage just doesn't make sense.

Not sure I'd class plugging a cable into a laptop a royal pain in the a*se and quality is very good and well defined. I'd agree with poor quality with such programs as MOTD due to the motion blur.

I totally agree with what you're saying regarding only having one table on the red button. It must be down to cost cutting which is very frustrating when they increase the cost of the TV license.

I guess I was just impressed with the fact they had full coverage on their website. As being an expat out here I'm starved of good snooker coverage so it made a refreshing change to be able to watch it in full. It was only the first day but I found the streaming onto my LCD very watchable and did not buffer hardly at all whilst using a VPN out here. Just to point out before you pour hate on me I still pay for a UK TV license

[Mr Snooker]

I thought its was awful of the BBC to take the Ronnie V Marcus Campbell mtach off at 9-3 at an important stage of the match for a repeat of some mothers do ave em, I wonder how many complaints the BBC get about that and I also wonder if it will be reported in Snooker scene like last time when they took Ronnie and the Judd Trump match off for a repeat of the hairy bikers. If it was a premier league or FA Cup football match would they take that off for Frank Spencer at an important stage

[CueInAction]

Good work BBC, London Marathon on BBC1 so obviously snooker will be on the red button right? Oh no, London Marathon on there too!! What's the point in that?

[scottley]

Good work BBC, London Marathon on BBC1 so obviously snooker will be on the red button right? Oh no, London Marathon on there too!! What's the point in that?

Joke!!!!!!

[vmax4steve]

Good work BBC, London Marathon on BBC1 so obviously snooker will be on the red button right? Oh no, London Marathon on there too!! What's the point in that?

Come on now, surely watching 30,000 people jogging for eight hours will keep you glued to your seat, your mouth dry with anticipation. There's the extra excitement this year of a possible bomb plot !!!

[david16]

Full live coverage of the marathon fun runners on the red button, 0 live snooker is ridiculous.

[Billy]

Good work BBC, London Marathon on BBC1 so obviously snooker will be on the red button right? Oh no, London Marathon on there too!! What's the point in that?

Fooking outrageous!! First they drop the two-table choice, and now they drop red button coverage almost completely.

We need answers as to why they're doing this! I'd suggest one of those online petitions, but they're about as effective as a chocolate tea cup.

[The Statman]

I think they also have inexperienced directors. This morning, they replayed Ebdon's fluked snooker on the yellow, meaning that we missed Dott's escape. Ebdon then had the cue-ball cleaned so they would have had ample time to [re]play Dott's shot, but they didn't.

Previously, Dott missed or something, and the commentators were saying "Oh, has he covered it" but we had no idea because they were replaying Dott's shot and even his face afterwards, returning to the live action milliseconds before Ebdon hit his shot.

The constant replay has been gradually infiltrating the BBC's coverage for a few years but it is surely reaching breaking point now. They might as well start the coverage 30 seconds later and just call it all a replay.

[Billy]

Good point, TS. It was something I noticed during one of the Beeb's big three last season. In fact I think I made a post on the subject.

Anyway, the following email is winging its way to Hazel as we speak, and I URGE anyone else who's complained about the dwindling coverage to do the same. snooker@bbc.co.uk

Hi,

Simple question; Why has the BBC dropped so much of their snooker coverage over the last couple of years?

First you deny viewers the two-table, interactive option, and now you've greatly reduced the amount of live snooker on the red button. Earlier today, you had the London Marathon on both terrestrial AND on the red button, at the expense of live snooker coverage.

Inexcusable as far as I'm concerned, but if you think differently then I and many other snooker fans are ready to listen.