BBC Prolongs World Snooker Agreement

BRISTOL: Thanks to a three-year deal extension with World Snooker, the BBC will continue to air important domestic snooker tournaments until at least 2017.

The BBC will still serve as the host broadcaster of The World Championship, the UK Championship and the Masters until the 2016/17 season is over. Those three events will be covered by the network across the U.K. as well as through the BBC iPlayer. There will also be the choice to continue with one more event after 2014.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn commented: "This is wonderful news for the many millions of snooker fans throughout the U.K. who love watching the sport on the BBC. This season there are over 260 hours of coverage of snooker on the BBC which is a fantastic amount. And last year’s World Championship was watched by 28.5 million people which proves what a wide appeal there is for snooker.

"The World Championship, the UK Championship and the Masters are among the highlights of the sporting calendar so it’s terrific that they will remain on terrestrial television.

"Snooker has made huge progress in recent years and is growing rapidly as a worldwide sport. The BBC remains one of our most important partners and we look forward to many years working with them."

World number one and UK champion Mark Selby added: "Everyone’s first memories of snooker are watching the big events on the BBC so it’s great for the players and fans to know that those tournaments will remain on terrestrial TV for at least the next four years."

Barbara Slater, the director of BBC Sport, added: "The World Snooker Championships are an important part of our sports rights portfolio and we’re delighted to be continuing our coverage of these three major tournaments."