Pro Snooker Needs Changes

[rambon]

It's easy to see why Professional Snooker players get upset at their earnings compared to other sports, but it's also readily understandable.

Supply and Demand is the basic economic theory and it applies here.

If people wanted to watch snooker in the numbers they watched in the 1980s, then there would be a queue (no pun intended) of sponsors waiting to throw money at tournaments. However, there aren't the supporters and therefore the governing body have to take lower offers which means there isn't the money there for the players.

How can this change? Well, you only have to look at darts for some ideas.

Last week's Premier League darts was played in front of 8000 plus people in a massive arena, thanks to re-branding, sensible pricing and attractive product. Snooker can't do that because of the noise factor, but re-branding can be done in other ways.

Bow ties and waistcoats... Please, is this 1930s Britain? Look at the way golf changed to accept new trends. Pool players wear polo shirts, darts players brand themselves with nicknames emblazened everywhere, Snooker could and should do this. Maybe some people would carry on wearing bow ties, but it should be a choice not a requirement.

Advertising - let the players wear as many adverts as they want. If they get money in from other sources, lack of prize money becomes less of an issue (maybe their sponsorship can be linked to performance - ie the longer they're in the tournament the more they get paid as the more exposure there is to the sponsor...)

Gimmicks - we've had new formats (round robins, speed clock in Premier League, etc), keep them coming. Pot Black has been a success since it came back in the new "Play it in a day" format. I've long since been an advocate of such one-off tournaments throught the season. It would break up the monotony of qualifying for those who need to and practice for the elite Top 16 or 32.

World Snooker DOES need direction. It needs someone to listen to the players, to listen to the fans, to listen to the broadcasters and to listen to the sponsors and potential sponsors and to find as near to a common ground as can possibly be found.

I don't think snooker will die if nothing is done, but the longer we go on like this, the more lasting the damage will be.

[ADR147]

i see where you are coming from unfortunately the figures say you are wrong - i assume its a subliminal thing.

[platt]

Snooker World defends Sir Rodney, Whats New !!!!!!!!!

[CueAntW147]

lots of great points raised on this thread which shows how much we all care about our snooker.... i think alot of the fun has gone out of it things like Pot Black how it used to be one frame a week but keeps interest there without overdoing it, so long now between televised tournaments people forget about it.
The world doubles...great event fun for players and fans, maybe an oldies tourament higgins, griffiths, taylor etc again bring the fun back with fun comes interests which can only be good to encourage new players, sponsors etc.
I think they have tryed things round robin etc etc formats and showing footage of this that and the other between frames...it used to just be funny moments/clips to a bit of music which for me was much better.

What it needs is a panel of sponsors, players, fans & governing body ( and someone of the snooker forum of course ) in a room throwing a few ideas around then all perspectives and angles will be covered to decide where we go from here.

Because at the moment the way its being run is simple " there's to much broadcasting and not enough tuning in ! " i think that about covers it.........

[CueAntW147]

Snooker World defends Sir Rodney, Whats New !!!!!!!!!

What would del boy say "come on rodney you diptsick don't be a plonker all your life , you need to move with the times, he who dares wins, he who hesitates.....don't "

[dazjwil7]

I feel the BBC are hugely responsible for maintaining the UK's interest in the sport.

Classic example is the the welsh open:-

Last year this was only available to viewers in BBC wales area only, and they only fed this into the interactive channels on the day of the final.

Why on earth leave the interactive channels dormant until then????!

I suspect there are 100's of viewers out there in addition to myself who would make the most out of the BEEB's interactive coverage on this (and other) tournaments

[ADR147]

there is no question its well watched. a couple of years ago it was second on the year after top gear. millions watch the snooker.

[rambon]

there is no question its well watched. a couple of years ago it was second on the year after top gear. millions watch the snooker.

Agreed, but we're not talking the level of the mid-80s, which is why the sponsors are walking away (or rather not fronting up)

If Embassy had announced they were withdrawing their sponsorship post Taylor vs Davis, the tournament could have named its price. Now that just isn't the case, and the pot needs stirring to make it more attractive.

[ADR147]

agreed. but if the fans are there waiting it must be the management?

[wildJONESEYE]

Agreed, but we're not talking the level of the mid-80s, which is why the sponsors are walking away (or rather not fronting up)

If Embassy had announced they were withdrawing their sponsorship post Taylor vs Davis, the tournament could have named its price. Now that just isn't the case, and the pot needs stirring to make it more attractive.

Mate in the mid 80s there was 4 channells on TV........

today you got hundred channells dedicated to everyones needs from gardening ,to soaps to classic programes.....

so theres no way viewing figures can be up there with the 80s........

look at programes like eastenders in 1985 over 30 million watched the programe christmas that year and they had 24 to 25 million viewers regualary...

today they are happy with 12 to 13 million a decrese of over 10 million viewers................

snooker is doing extreamly well in the ratings and it is holding it own very well in a era of multi channells that wasent there in the 80s.........

[rambon]

Mate in the mid 80s there was 4 channells on TV........

today you got hundred channells dedicated to everyones needs from gardening ,to soaps to classic programes.....

snooker is doing extreamly well in the ratings and it is holding it own very well in a era of multi channells that wasent there in the 80s.........

It's a valid point but it actually helps prove my point that Snooker doesn't have the global marketing pull that it once had, and sponsors will not therefore rush, which means new things need to be found...

I'm sure the appearance money from Big Break if that were to re-appear would help fill the players' pockets....

[platt]

I think this global attraction is a bit of a myth, when snooker boomed in the 80s and 15 or 16 million watched BBC coverage of the Davis v Taylor final the countrys the showed it live were England, Scotland, Wales and all of Ireland,. Snooker needs to be restructored at the ground level. Marketing companies need to be looked at to see what money is been spent on promoting products. Snooker is played by all ages not just people who buy insurance. Sending out Peter Ebdon to sell WSA is a joke or a board member who has no power to capture a big deal. If a deal like that one that was on the table a few years ago snooker would be better off in a nut shell. But the people in charge seen there pocket money shrinking.

[wildJONESEYE]

I think this global attraction is a bit of a myth, when snooker boomed in the 80s and 15 or 16 million watched BBC coverage of the Davis v Taylor final the countrys the showed it live were England, Scotland, Wales and all of Ireland.

yes theres many people on this site from different countries that hadent herd or got involved in snooker until the satalite boom and more importantly Eurosport..who are doing a brilliant job of promoting snooker in Europe.........

so during the so called boom of the 80s it was very much restricted to British TV ........

[ADR147]

you mean get dominic dale to do more !!!

[rambon]

I think this global attraction is a bit of a myth, when snooker boomed in the 80s and 15 or 16 million watched BBC coverage of the Davis v Taylor final the countrys the showed it live were England, Scotland, Wales and all of Ireland,. Snooker needs to be restructored at the ground level. Marketing companies need to be looked at to see what money is been spent on promoting products. Snooker is played by all ages not just people who buy insurance. Sending out Peter Ebdon to sell WSA is a joke or a board member who has no power to capture a big deal. If a deal like that one that was on the table a few years ago who taken snooker would be better off in a nut shell. But the people in charge seen there pocket money shrinking.

It's true enough I suppose, I guess the global corporate drive of wanting something for virtually nothing, coupled with the inexorable rise of Formula 1, Golf, Tennis and other such high profile sports, to say nothing of Football, means snooker gets squeezed out.

It doesn't change the fact that in order to keep a pro tour of this size, something needs to be done.

Ice skating has seen life breathed into it through the Celebrity Falling Over On ice Skates format and dancing has seen massive increase in numbers following Strictly Come Dancing. I enjoyed the Sport Relief snooker variation where Pro and Celebrity alternated shots. Could a longer run of that breathe some life into snooker I wonder?