Which is more popular in England? Pool or snooker!

Which is more popular in England?

  • Snooker

    Votes: 35 92.1%
  • Pool

    Votes: 3 7.9%

  • Total voters
    38
  • Poll closed .

Swighey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
English 8 ball can be played in nearly every pub in UK. But it's non existent on TV.
"Ultimate Pool" with the new International Pool Rules (close to WPA rules) is getting plenty of time on Freesports and one of the tournaments made it to BT Sport (a major premium cable/satellite channel in the UK, a rival of Sky Sports). The prize money is going up and I would say the game is going in a very positive direction. Mark Selby even played in one of the tournaments. There's even talk of a Mosconi Cup type event between Ultimate Pool from the UK and Pockets Pro Pool from Australia (played with the same ruleset).
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I guess I'm curious as to the popularity of pool in England, where Matchroom is presenting beautiful venues to showcase pool in all its glory, and the audience on-site is minimal, unlike Mosconi Cup, of course, and professional snooker competitions. Snooker may not be major league baseball or golf or tennis, but the payouts to the snooker pros are decent, and there is a strong fan base in England, unlike here in the States, for snooker.

If the mission is to get pool in mainstream media to attract more viewership, why, oh, why is the coverage of pool on TV so fragmented where one country can watch for free on Matchroom-dot-live and another country can only watch on DAZN and this country can only watch on Sky Sports, et cetera?

I am not a media guru by any means, but I find it hard to believe that Matchroom is making big bucks from DAZN, Sky Sports, and the other television channels.

I would respectfully submit that Matchroom might consider putting pool on Matchroom-dot-live for everybody around the world and not be as divisive as it is today. It is no secret that DAZN is a big bummer for many viewers who experienced buffering, freezing, no advanced notice on the DAZN schedule, and sometimes late coverage of events when the match is already in progress. This is disappointing and a turn-off. Doesn't Matchroom read the reviews of DAZN?

Once pool is more mainstream or even close to where snooker is today as it is in England, then maybe the division of media on how to watch pool would be a good move. But the way it is today, it's sucks a big weenie, and my opinion is that it will hurt pool more than help it, which is a shame considering the first-class presentations of pool by Matchroom. We pool fans recognize the excellence of Matchroom productions, but will the rest of the world ever get the opportunity to see it, like it, thus, creating new fans? The more fans and interest in pool there is, the better for pool as a sport. It will bring in new sponsorship monies, non-pool-related sponsors. Snooker has a few like Cazoo, BetFred, et cetera.

I think pool is more popular in the United States than in England, and I would like to think Matchroom would benefit more if they made it easier for Americans to watch the Matchroom productions instead of this division of media coverage, some of which is subpar.
 

skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I guess I'm curious as to the popularity of pool in England, where Matchroom is presenting beautiful venues to showcase pool in all its glory, and the audience on-site is minimal, unlike Mosconi Cup, of course, and professional snooker competitions. Snooker may not be major league baseball or golf or tennis, but the payouts to the snooker pros are decent, and there is a strong fan base in England, unlike here in the States, for snooker.

If the mission is to get pool in mainstream media to attract more viewership, why, oh, why is the coverage of pool on TV so fragmented where one country can watch for free on Matchroom-dot-live and another country can only watch on DAZN and this country can only watch on Sky Sports, et cetera?

I am not a media guru by any means, but I find it hard to believe that Matchroom is making big bucks from DAZN, Sky Sports, and the other television channels.

I would respectfully submit that Matchroom might consider putting pool on Matchroom-dot-live for everybody around the world and not be as divisive as it is today. It is no secret that DAZN is a big bummer for many viewers who experienced buffering, freezing, no advanced notice on the DAZN schedule, and sometimes late coverage of events when the match is already in progress. This is disappointing and a turn-off. Doesn't Matchroom read the reviews of DAZN?

Once pool is more mainstream or even close to where snooker is today as it is in England, then maybe the division of media on how to watch pool would be a good move. But the way it is today, it's sucks a big weenie, and my opinion is that it will hurt pool more than help it, which is a shame considering the first-class presentations of pool by Matchroom. We pool fans recognize the excellence of Matchroom productions, but will the rest of the world ever get the opportunity to see it, like it, thus, creating new fans? The more fans and interest in pool there is, the better for pool as a sport. It will bring in new sponsorship monies, non-pool-related sponsors. Snooker has a few like Cazoo, BetFred, et cetera.

I think pool is more popular in the United States than in England, and I would like to think Matchroom would benefit more if they made it easier for Americans to watch the Matchroom productions instead of this division of media coverage, some of which is subpar.

if this is another european vs american caste system rant you're way off.. some of us european pool fans have to subscribe to viasat for roughly 33 USD/month. which i have done since april and will do again for the european open. stream issues exists, as with most streaming platforms, but i like what i'm getting enough to chip in for it. sky sports for the brits i believe costs even more than that.
 

Cue Alchemist

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
"Ultimate Pool" with the new International Pool Rules (close to WPA rules) is getting plenty of time on Freesports and one of the tournaments made it to BT Sport (a major premium cable/satellite channel in the UK, a rival of Sky Sports). The prize money is going up and I would say the game is going in a very positive direction. Mark Selby even played in one of the tournaments. There's even talk of a Mosconi Cup type event between Ultimate Pool from the UK and Pockets Pro Pool from Australia (played with the same ruleset).
I didn't know that it was that popular. I live in the UK. I've only ever been involved with and played American pool. I started a long time ago. Although some new clubs have sprung up. Its not as meany as used to be. What are the 8 ball events like? As many as what matchroom do?
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
if this is another european vs american caste system rant you're way off.. some of us european pool fans have to subscribe to viasat for roughly 33 USD/month. which i have done since april and will do again for the european open. stream issues exists, as with most streaming platforms, but i like what i'm getting enough to chip in for it. sky sports for the brits i believe costs even more than that.
I am not ranting. I'm sharing my opinion, as are you. You don't have to be nasty and sarcastic in this thread. I certainly was not nasty to you.
 

skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am not ranting. I'm sharing my opinion, as are you. You don't have to be nasty and sarcastic in this thread. I certainly was not nasty to you.

i don't believe i was. just stating the facts, that the american vs european/rest of the world dichotomy doesn't hold water. germany, italy, spain have DAZN just like the USA. scandinavia and NL etc have the more expensive viasat, and sky sports costs even more.

i also don't see the logic in first establishing that MR makes no money through live audiences / live streams, and then demanding that they should show it all for free. it seems to defeat the purpose of making their pool investment successful, which in turn would make the sport grow.
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Supremes, Blackball tables, Guru tables, etc. are still pool tables... Just because they're designed for a different pool discipline than American pool doesn't automatically mean they're not pool tables.
Read the message I sent you.💪😃👍

Cheers,
Fatboy🍻
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Snooker by a mile(driven on the wrong side of the road).

I’ll be in London later this week, I was in London right after the WC this year, was around talking to everyone about it and what a amazing tourney it was this year. It’s very uncommon to meet anyone there that isn’t aware of snooker and the big name players.

Best
Fatboy🇬🇧
 

FastManners

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The reason it is on Sky in the UK is so that it has an opportunity to reach non pool/snooker fans. A non cue sport fan would never subscribe to matchroom live, however most households have Sky. As the Matchroom pool events are on the Sky TV guide, it gives a wider audience the opportunity to discover and hopefully get hooked on these events. I think the play is to use the UK market as a way to showcase how popular pool can be to wider audience/sponsors, in order to get picked up by a major US broadcast network.
I used to work placing the commercials for Sky an TBS, so I have a pretty good understanding on how the ecosystem works, at least on the commercial ratings side.
 
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skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The reason it is on Sky in the UK is so that it has an opportunity to reach non pool/snooker fans. A non cue sport fan would never subscribe to matchroom live, however most households have Sky. As the Matchroom pool events are on the Sky TV guide, it gives a wider audience the opportunity to discover and hopefully get hooked on these events. I think the play is to use the UK market as a way to showcase how popular pool can be to wider audience/sponsors, in order to get picked up by a major US broadcast network.
I used to work placing the commercials for Sky an TBS, so I have a pretty good understanding on how the ecosystem works, at least on the commercial ratings side.

there have probably been few else than sky showing an interest, and besides, MR already show other sports there.. but to dream of it coming to other big linear sports TV channels is probably a pipedream. sportstreaming is taking over with every year, and in sports way bigger than pool..
 

telinoz

Registered
Having lived there, pool more accessible in pubs and clubs.
Snooker in more dedicated venues.
Pool played more I found.

To watch, only one winner there and that is Snooker.
Huge audience for it there. Still gets big numbers, pretty sure without googling the 1985 final still has the viewing record for anything on TV at 18 million in the UK.

I love both cuesports. No bias for me.
 

Swighey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I didn't know that it was that popular. I live in the UK. I've only ever been involved with and played American pool. I started a long time ago. Although some new clubs have sprung up. Its not as meany as used to be. What are the 8 ball events like? As many as what matchroom do?
Too many events for me to keep track of. I will always watch American pool or snooker if there's a clash, but I watch bits of the Ultimate Pool events if I have some time. It's a mix - sometimes there are weekly qualifiers followed by a finals night, sometimes a weekend tournament. Some full on races and some "turbo" tournaments with fast shot clocks and match time limits. While I don't love the game of English pool it's well worth watching as it's top quality billiards.
 

Nick B

This is gonna hurt
Silver Member
I would say based on the attendance of both the UK Open and WCofP it's not even close. Even the finals had many empty seats. In reality the total number of seats was limited. Only Mosconi events get anything resembling Snooker attendance. It would not amaze me if Snooker "TV" audience is 100x what pool commands. Not that MR is not doing "The Lords" work but they have a long way to make it the next Snooker.

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Geosnookery

Well-known member
I only ever played Blackball and Snooker in England. Blackball Is played a hundred times more…Snooker watched more.

A bit like baseball in the USA. Adults play softball, slowpitch. Almost nobody plays MLB fastball rules.. However, MLB is more popular as a spectator sport.
 

mista335

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would respectfully submit that Matchroom might consider putting pool on Matchroom-dot-live for everybody around the world and not be as divisive as it is today.
If you want Matchroom to give away their content for free then how do they make any money?

Where would the prize money come from?
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If you want Matchroom to give away their content for free then how do they make any money?

Where would the prize money come from?
Adverts like most free content has, proven formula-if the audience is large enough.

Not reinventing the wheel

Best
Fatboy 😃
 
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skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Too many events for me to keep track of. I will always watch American pool or snooker if there's a clash, but I watch bits of the Ultimate Pool events if I have some time. It's a mix - sometimes there are weekly qualifiers followed by a finals night, sometimes a weekend tournament. Some full on races and some "turbo" tournaments with fast shot clocks and match time limits. While I don't love the game of English pool it's well worth watching as it's top quality billiards.

seems to be fairly low prize money. i don't like small tables or different sized balls but i have watched the occassional melling or mick hill match. melling for his creative potting and mick hill for his great patterns. those chinese 8-ball tournaments could do with the "turbo" and shot clock you speak of.
 

skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Adverts like most free content has, proven formula-if the audience is large enough.

Not reinventing the wheel

Best
Fatboy 😃

they have sponsors and commercial breaks. relying on that alone probably wouldn't cover their overhead costs, unless they revert to fixed cameras and random joe doing commentary, not to mention what little would be left for prize money
 
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