Championship League Snooker will be optimised specifically for an internet audience, with matches scheduled Monday-Thursday so not to coincide with major football competitions.
All sessions will play between 2pm and 10pm to maximise both workplace and home viewing in Europe and Asia, snooker’s biggest two regions in terms of fan base. All sessions will offer coverage of two concurrent matches to allow fans the chance to switch tables at any time. Live coverage will be exclusively for the Internet.
Premium TV/Inform have already started distribution discussions and expect Championship League Snooker to be distributed by a variety of major portals, ISPs, web TV and betting websites globally.
Barry Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom, said: “This will be a very exciting Championship. The players, venue, staging, cameras and production will all be of the usual highest quality but the distribution will be a completely new phenomenon for sport. We are delighted to be partners in such a forward thinking initiative that could help fund all sorts of new sports leagues around the world.”
Simon Denyer, Joint CEO of Premium TV/Inform Group, said: “The launch of Championship League Snooker illustrates how far the internet and our company have come. We have spent recent years helping major rights holder’s monetise digital rights that have been seen as marginal. This shows that the internet can now be the lead medium for some sports and we look forward to a great working relationship with Matchroom and the players”.
Championship League Snooker will start in February and run through to May. Matchroom Sport will stage the event and Premium TV/Inform Group will produce all coverage using purpose built internet-based delivery broadcasting equipment.
