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.