Why is snooker profitable?

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Lou Loulacy

Registered
Why is snooker well sponsored and in turn the players make great money?

I don't want to hear opinions about what needs to change about pool in America. I just want to look at it from the lens of what has made snooker successful.

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Danimal

Danimal

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Because you can wager on it, just like we do with the NFL (even easier so).
 
boogeyman

boogeyman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Lou Loulacy said:
Why is snooker well sponsored and in turn the players make great money?

I don't want to hear opinions about what needs to change about pool in America. I just want to look at it from the lens of what has made snooker successful.

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I have no idea.
I look forward to someone's answer on this one.
 
Kimmo H.

Kimmo H.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Not an expert on the matter by any means but from my perspective there are a couple reasons behind this.

First of all Snooker has a better reputation as a gentlemans sport and will do so thanks to the more professional televised events. The players have strict regulations on what they are allowed to wear in matches wich contributes to more civilized atmosphere around the game. This sense of class is more attractive to sponsors, bringing more money in to the game. Also betting sites are drawn to big events as there is a large following around the biggest events and snooker is relatively easy to bet on.

Secondly the game itself is more strategic and demanding than pool is. Thanks to the strategy involved there is more people who dont necessarily play themselves watching the games as they are interesting with the safety battles and following offensice game. Similiar to chess in a way, knowing when to take on a shot and when to play a safe.

Third major reason for snookers succes is the spectators themselves and the way they behave in television set. More often than not the spectators recognise the exceptionally good shots and applaude to them accordingly. This makes the game easier to get in to as it teaches the new people watching the game to appreciate the efforts of the players. And while they are not applauding they are silent, not shouting their lungs out Euuuuuuuuuuurrrope or U S A! like the Mosconi cup for example. The closest pool comes to snookers appeal is World pool masters, that is an event to model the game after for the future in my opinion :smile:
 
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onepocketron

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
First and foremost it is marketed in a huge way (can you say "promoted to the max"). At one time snooker was almost dead, and Barry took over. Promoted it in a way that got people insterested and excited.

Second there is a governing body that oversees all of the players to make sure they are not dumping and fixing matches. You get caught fixing, your banned.

Third the gambling institutions are in many cases, the main sponsor of the events so there are big bucks involved.

Fourth it is considered a "gentelmans' game". In other words, they there no fixes, they call fouls on themselves (when the ref didn't see it), they don't talks shit to their opponents when it's their turn, they don't piss and moan when palying, well I could go on but you get the idea. There is a lot of honesty in the game. You get a ton of respect from most folks for honesty.

That's my 2 cents.

That is why I watch it on stream, or utube it after the match is over (making sure I don't read much so I don't know the outcome). These guys and gals that play the game are fist class and honest. That is why I watch it.
 
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vjmehra

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm a Brit and follow snooker pretty closely and I'd agree with most of whats said above.

Snooker reached huge audiences in the UK in the 1980's and then gradually began to decline. The tobacco companies who were huge sponsors were no longer allow to put money in as the UK and Europe decide to ban them from sponsoring sporting events.

Barry Hearn was hugely involved in the 1980's, but due to behind the scenes politics couldn't get back to the helm until fairly recently.

Since Barry came back snooker has more events than ever before (or at least since the 1980's), with big money sponsorship deals (its no co-incidence Barry Hearn can achieve these, advertisers simply will look at what he achieved with darts) and Live coverage not only in the UK, but also across Europe and Asia (importantly China).

The 'brand image' has been cleverly marketed and as people have said, it is viewed as a gentleman's game...in-fact arguably this has gone too far as other than Ronnie none of the players really cause any controversy anymore.

Only final thing they did well, was keep the major 3 events (WC, UK and Masters) on free to air tv in the UK, this ensures those at least attract large viewing figures...throw in China (especially when Ding gets to the final) and Europe and you can see why its getting even more popular!
 
J

justinb386

Banned
Lou Loulacy said:
Why is snooker well sponsored and in turn the players make great money?

I don't want to hear opinions about what needs to change about pool in America. I just want to look at it from the lens of what has made snooker successful.

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I assume that part of the reason is that Snooker is probably looked at (by corporate sponsors) as a very classy sport (like Golf for example), I think. I see it as a gentlemans game (maybe for the high class), and maybe the sponsors see it in the same type of way. When I imagine snooker players, I imagine well dressed people, that I think might look down on the sport of pool, and find it laughable in comparison. I just see it as such a classy sport, unlike pool (that has had players give it a very bad reputation in the past). So, those are just some thoughts on why I think that Snooker players make the big bucks. Not to mention, Snooker is a much more difficult game, and the competition is far greater I think. This might be another reason why there is a lot more money in Snooker.
 
MichaelKendall

MichaelKendall

Pool Addict
Silver Member
I have lived and played in England and my family is all English but I grew up with bar pool in the US and I think that it is two reasons:

Public funded television like the BBC one, allows everyone access to basic tv more exposure especially to lower income families. Two, allows the BBC to give prime time spots to a sport like snooker before it had money behind it. Three, coverage is excellent. The analytics and in depth conversation around the sport and the "red button" makes it much more interesting. Finally, snooker is a better game. I love pool and find snooker entirely too hard but quite frankly I can't believe anyone can stand to watch Shane and opponent X run racks of 9 ball on a bar box in a race to 9 where only one shot is missed. It is just boring and the commentary is often poor. I am obsessed with pool but it is not fun to watch. Modern technology should have more discussion about patterns and strategy with computer graphics and how to's etc. Until we find a better game or make this game harder and invest some money in production I don't think it will gain traction.

Gentleman's game: Kids in England grow up watching snooker and pretending to be Ronnie O'Sullivan it is a country sport and has national pride. Our sport unfortunately does not attract a lot of people that I would want my son to admire. I'd say we have some ground work to do.

In summary, the Spelling Bee should not get better ratings than this beautiful sport. We have a problem.


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J

justinb386

Banned
onepocketron said:
First and foremost it is marketed in a huge way (can you say "promoted to the max"). At one time snooker was almost dead, and Barry took over. Promoted it in a way that got people insterested and excited.

Second there is a governing body that oversees all of the players to make sure they are not dumping and fixing matches. You get caught fixing, your banned.

Third the gambling institutions are in many cases, the main sponsor of the events so there are big bucks involved.

Fourth it is considered a "gentelmans' game". In other words, they there no fixes, they call fouls on themselves (when the ref didn't see it), they don't talks shit to their opponents when it's their turn, they don't piss and moan when palying, well I could go on but you get the idea. There is a lot of honesty in the game. You get a ton of respect from most folks for honesty.

That's my 2 cents.

That is why I watch it on stream, or utube it after the match is over (making sure I don't read much so I don't know the outcome). These guys and gals that play the game are fist class and honest. That is why I watch it.
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Great reply. I always wondered why Allison Fisher stopped playing Snooker, and switched to pool. I assume the only reason why is because she wanted to relocate to the US, and in the US, there is only pool to compete at on a pro level. Sorry to go off topic.

When I think of pool players with as much class as snooker players, I think of players like Allison Fisher, and Shane Van Boening. If all of the players could have the class that these players have had, then maybe the corporate sponsors would look more at pool, and sponsor some major tournaments. Sorry, I understand that the OP did not want this type of reply, about pool in America.

Snooker players just seem to have so much more class, honor, and respect for each other. It is purely a gentlemans game. Pool is not, and not sure if it has ever been (maybe it was back in Ralph Greenleafs day, and that is why it was more popular back then?). So, that is why the Snooker players make 10 times more then the elite pool players.
 
J

justinb386

Banned
MichaelKendall said:
I have lived and played in England and my family is all English but I grew up with bar pool in the US and I think that it is two reasons:

Public funded television like the BBC one, allows everyone access to basic tv more exposure especially to lower income families. Two, allows the BBC to give prime time spots to a sport like snooker before it had money behind it. Three, coverage is excellent. The analytics and in depth conversation around the sport and the "red button" makes it much more interesting. Finally, snooker is a better game. I love pool and find snooker entirely too hard but quite frankly I can't believe anyone can stand to watch Shane and opponent X run racks of 9 ball on a bar box in a race to 9 where only one shot is missed. It is just boring and the commentary is often poor. I am obsessed with pool but it is not fun to watch. Modern technology should have more discussion about patterns and strategy with computer graphics and how to's etc. Until we find a better game or make this game harder and invest some money in production I don't think it will gain traction.

Gentleman's game: Kids in England grow up watching snooker and pretending to be Ronnie O'Sullivan it is a country sport and has national pride. Our sport unfortunately does not attract a lot of people that I would want my son to admire. I'd say we have some ground work to do.

In summary, the Spelling Bee should not get better ratings than this beautiful sport. We have a problem.


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That was a really great reply. I am happy that some Brits like and respect the game of pool. It just does not compare to Snooker though (in many ways).
 
S

Swighey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
justinb386 said:
Great reply. I always wondered why Allison Fisher stopped playing Snooker, and switched to pool. I assume the only reason why is because she wanted to relocate to the US, and in the US, there is only pool to compete at on a pro level.
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Yes, and she could earn more money back then playing pool in the US then she could grinding a living as a lower ranked pro in snooker. Here's an article from 2009:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/nov/08/allison-fisher-pool-interview
 
Pangit

Pangit

Banned
onepocketron;5856873 Second there is a governing body that oversees all of the players to make sure they are not dumping and fixing matches. You get caught fixing said:
Peter Francisco, Stephen Lee and John Higgins come to mind.

Imagine if the same sort of justice had been administered to Buddy Hall after his "loss" to Mike LeBron in the 1991 Challenge of Champions? Hell, the TD of that event has reportedly said he didn't notice anything wrong with that dump job. :shocked2:

Pool has a wayz to go if it truly wants compete with snooker.
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R

Renegade_56

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'd say 95% of the reason is marketing, and the fact they don't play their major tournaments on the corner table of a local bar. Snooker is big, because it is promoted as big.
 
M.G.

M.G.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Kimmo H. said:
Not an expert on the matter by any means but from my perspective there are a couple reasons behind this.

First of all Snooker has a better reputation as a gentlemans sport and will do so thanks
....
Click to expand...

Wow, great to the point.

I like to add that people actually are drawn to quality and Snooker matches always deliver quality, from behaviour to camera to sound to commentating.

Having excellent cameras (and multiple ones) is a must.

Snooker commentators know when to be silent, when to tell a little, small interesting story and when to talk about what's happening on the table. It is relaxing for your mind and soul.

If I hear some pool commentator talk about "leaving a angle" "he has no angle" again or some crap stories about their achievements back then I'm freaking out. Or just talking all the fricking time. That's all they tell and talk about.

CARE about your product and you quality. And no, that's not overly expensive anymore.

Cheers,
M
 
Bella Don't Cry

Bella Don't Cry

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Snooker is also transparent with its procedures, disciplinary acts and all players are treated the same; regardless of status.

Pool can be as successful but a new breed of thinkers and leaders need to step forward with 21st century ideas... Mr. Appleton is beginning to see the light and other should follow. :thumbup:
 
prpavi

prpavi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Attitude of the players, strickt dress and conduct code and one governing body instead of a dozen "associations" each with their own rules and regulations. The professional approach of presenters and tv crews. When watching pool I often encounter what you call oldtimers who go on ranting sprees about people hustling and pulling guns, that does NOT attract regular people.
 
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garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
"The Rack Pack"...........................

Go find a copy of this very entertaining flik. Its about Barry, Steve Davis and the Hurricane, Alex Higgins. You can see how the game went from smoky back rooms full of old farts to the living rooms of all Brits. Barry Hearn was/is the Mark McCormack of snooker. He made the deals and his boys shot the balls(and got rich).
 
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johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
People seem to be glossing over 2 simple factors that make it more popular as well. First, it is simply a better game than other games and second, it's structure makes it far far more simple to watch on TV
 
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