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The Sun
10 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Huge boost for snooker fans as free-to-air channel snaps up rights to broadcast major events for first time ever
A NEW TV deal has ensured three major ranking snooker tournaments will remain on free-to-air TV. The British Open, Players Championship and Tour Championship will all be broadcast live on 5 next season. 1 The WST has penned the "pioneering agreement" with the terrestrial channel. It will see all three tournaments broadcast on 5 from 2026. Ben Frow, Chief Content Officer, 5 and Paramount UK commented: "We are delighted to bring the World Snooker Tour to 5. "The Tour Championship, Players Championship and British Open are top ranking tournaments featuring the world's best players and making them available to view on free-to-air TV continues our mission to keep elite live sport accessible for fans across the UK." WST Chairman Steve Dawson added: "We are delighted to be working with 5 for the first time and to add a new broadcaster to our tour. "Snooker has a long history of providing fans with free-to-air events with extensive live coverage so this is fantastic news for everyone who follows our sport. "The Players Championship and Tour Championship are elite events contested only by the best of the best. "Players are striving all season to climb the one year list and earn a place in these prestigious tournaments. "And from 2026, 5 will also broadcast the British Open which is a historic event with its own unique identity including a random draw. "We look forward to working with the 5 team on these events and ensuring that an outstanding product is delivered to snooker's consistently huge audience. "Our sport had incredible viewing figures throughout last season and we expect to see that trend continue as we grow across the world." THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Huge boost for snooker fans as free-to-air channel snaps up rights to broadcast major events for first time ever
A NEW TV deal has ensured three major ranking snooker tournaments will remain on free-to-air TV. The British Open, Players Championship and Tour Championship will all be broadcast live on 5 next season. Advertisement 1 Three major snooker ranking events are staying on free-to-air TV Credit: Getty The WST has penned the "pioneering agreement" with the terrestrial channel. It will see all three tournaments broadcast on 5 from 2026. Ben Frow, Chief Content Officer, 5 and Paramount UK commented: "We are delighted to bring the World Snooker Tour to 5. "The Tour Championship, Players Championship and British Open are top ranking tournaments featuring the world's best players and making them available to view on free-to-air TV continues our mission to keep elite live sport accessible for fans across the UK." Advertisement READ MORE ON SNOOKER WST Chairman Steve Dawson added: "We are delighted to be working with 5 for the first time and to add a new broadcaster to our tour. "Snooker has a long history of providing fans with free-to-air events with extensive live coverage so this is fantastic news for everyone who follows our sport. "The Players Championship and Tour Championship are elite events contested only by the best of the best. "Players are striving all season to climb the one year list and earn a place in these prestigious tournaments. Advertisement Most read in Snooker Exclusive Exclusive "And from 2026, 5 will also broadcast the British Open which is a historic event with its own unique identity including a random draw. "We look forward to working with the 5 team on these events and ensuring that an outstanding product is delivered to snooker's consistently huge audience. "Our sport had incredible viewing figures throughout last season and we expect to see that trend continue as we grow across the world." THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. Advertisement The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video . Like us on Facebook at THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video . Like us on Facebook at
Metro
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Metro
Three major World Snooker Tour events move to new TV channel
The Players Championship, Tour Championship and British Open will move to Channel 5 in 2026. The three tournaments have been shown on ITV4 in recent seasons but will change broadcaster next year. The change sees this season's Players Championship (Feb 16-22) and Tour Championship (Mar 30 – Apr 5) make the switch. The British Open will move to Channel 5 in 2026, but this season's edition runs from 22-28 September, before the switch. The broadcasting team of presenters, pundits and commentators have not been confirmed as yet, as Channel 5 show ranking events for the first time. WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: 'We are delighted to be working with 5 for the first time and to add a new broadcaster to our tour. Snooker has a long history of providing fans with free-to-air events with extensive live coverage so this is fantastic news for everyone who follows our sport. 'The Players Championship and Tour Championship are elite events contested only by the best of the best. Players are striving all season to climb the one year list and earn a place in these prestigious tournaments. 'And from 2026, 5 will also broadcast the British Open which is a historic event with its own unique identity including a random draw.' Matchroom Sport president Barry Hearn was asked about the upcoming shake-up in broadcasting deals for World Snooker Tour events at this year's World Championship. 'There's going to be a mixture of broadcasters because quite honestly, broadcasters like snooker,' he said at the Crucible. 'It's delivering ratings. 'We live in a numbers game. ITV4 has been fantastically successful for us in the numbers it's got. 'So, obviously some of the other stations want snooker. And I think in the next couple of weeks we will lay out the deals that we've done. More Trending 'It's going to involve a multiple number of broadcasters. Some free-to-air, some behind the pay-model. But it's a compliment to where snooker is that it's in demand. 'We need to be more encouraging to the younger market, which involves talking to them in the language that they understand and the medium that they understand. And that's why the world is becoming more digital. The future is more Netflix than free-to-air. 'People will be able to watch what they want to watch, the sports they want to watch, when they want to watch it and for a price they can afford. I find that really exciting.' MORE: 10 storylines of the new snooker season as the 2025-26 campaign begins MORE: Anthony Hamilton names snooker star's transformation as 'most impressive thing I've seen' MORE: Ronnie O'Sullivan faces World Snooker Championship nightmare ahead of new season
Straits Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
ViewQwest being probed by regulator over week-long service disruption
A spokesman for ViewQwest said the internet outage was caused by a hardware failure impacting its server. PHOTO: ST FILE SINGAPORE – Local broadband service provider ViewQwest is being probed by Singapore's infocomms regulator after some customers complained they could not access the internet for more than a week. A spokesman for the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which enforces broadband service standards, said it views the disruption seriously and is investigating the service disruption first reported on April 29. 'We have instructed ViewQwest to address customers' concerns and assist those who may still be experiencing connectivity issues expeditiously,' said the IMDA spokesman on May 7. ViewQwest alerted customers to the network issues on Facebook on April 29 . A spokesman for ViewQwest said on May 7 that the outage was caused by a hardware failure impacting its server, affecting connections for some customers as they were unable to obtain valid IP or internet protocol addresses. The problem was resolved on May 1, said the spokesman, adding that the firm has implemented measures to trace further disruptions, upgrade its systems and review its backup mechanisms. Some customers may still experience issues, depending on their device or network settings, which may require manual adjustments, he said. 'Our support teams are actively reaching out to guide these customers through the necessary steps to fully restore their service.' ViewQwest declined to reveal how many users were affected but noted that less than 10 per cent of its customer base requested assistance. Asked if affected users will be compensated, the ViewQwest spokesman said: 'We are exploring a gesture of support that acknowledges the disruption and reflects our sincere commitment to ensuring reliable internet for our customers. We will reach out to our customers soonest when the process is ready.' Some customers have aired their grievances in online forums and on ViewQwest's Facebook page. Business consultant Steve Dawson, 49, said his connection was down for the entire period from April 29 to May 7. He told The Straits Times that the disruption affected the online workshops he conducts from home, which require a stable and high-bandwidth internet connection to run smoothly. Using mobile data for an extended period of time causes his phone to overheat, he said. 'I can live with a short outage of one to two days, but what's unacceptable is the lack of urgency or a clear resolution,' said Mr Dawson. He called the helpdesk daily but was upset that he was not given an estimation of when the issue would be resolved. 'They are providing an essential service and this shouldn't happen,' he said. Mr Cadell Deng, 35, who works in the education technology sector, said he struggled to get a clear view of most of the live action during the May 3 Polling Day live stream. Despite switching to his mobile phone's hot spot, the TV stream was so blurry he could barely see which candidates were on-screen. He also had to reconfigure some smart appliances such as the air-conditioning unit and smart lights as they failed to get connected to the internet even after the broadband connection for his home improved on May 4. Freelance writer May Chen, 38, said her connection kept dropping repeatedly from April 29, locking her out of work apps like Google Docs and WhatsApp. Ms Chen used her phone's mobile hot spot as a backup, but lamented that her mobile broadband is not as fast as the fixed broadband. 'It's just frustrating because I've paid for the service and expect it to deliver.' MyRepublic, another broadband service provider, was also investigated by IMDA over a series of service disruptions between July and September 2024, which the company said at the time was due to an issue that arose after a system migration. Asked about the outcome of the investigation, IMDA said it has reminded MyRepublic to ensure that it has adequate contingency measures within its network. Under IMDA's telecommunications quality of service standards, errant operators can be fined up to $50,000 for each instance of non-compliance. M1 and StarHub were handed fines totalling $610,000 for causing internet service disruptions in 2020. The outage had affected those working from home or attending home-based learning during the Covid-19 circuit breaker period then. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
ViewQwest probed by regulator over week-long service disruption
A spokesman for ViewQwest said the problem has been resolved by May 7. PHOTO: ST FILE SINGAPORE - Local broadband service provider ViewQwest is being probed by Singapore's infocomms regulator after some customers complained they could not access the Internet for more than a week . A spokesman for Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which enforces broadband service standards, said it views the disruption seriously and is investigating the service disruption first reported on April 29. 'We have instructed ViewQwest to address customers' concerns and assist those who may still be experiencing connectivity issues expeditiously,' said the IMDA spokesman on May 7. ViewQwest alerted customers to the network issues on Facebook on April 29 . A spokesman for ViewQwest said on May 7 that the outage was caused by a hardware failure impacting its server, affecting connections for some customers as they were unable to obtain valid IP (internet protocol) addresses. The problem has been resolved by May 7, said the spokesman, adding that the firm has implemented measures to trace further disruptions, upgrade its systems and review its backup mechanisms. Some customers may still experience issues depending on their device or network settings, which may require manual adjustments, he said. 'Our support teams are actively reaching out to guide these customers through the necessary steps to fully restore their service.' ViewQwest declined to state how many users were affected but noted that less than 10 per cent of its customer base have requested for assistance. Asked if affected users will be compensated, the ViewQwest spokesman said: 'We are exploring a gesture of support that acknowledges the disruption and reflects our sincere commitment to ensuring reliable internet for our customers. We will reach out to our customers soonest when the process is ready.' Some customers have aired their grievances on online forums and on ViewQwest's Facebook page. Business consultant Steve Dawson, 49, said his connection was down for the whole duration from April 29 to May 7. He told The Straits Times that the disruption has affected the online workshops he conducts from home, which require a stable and high-bandwidth internet connection to run smoothly. His mobile data is not sufficient and causes his phone to overheat, he said. 'I can live with a short outage of one to two days, but what's unacceptable is the lack of urgency or a clear resolution,' said Mr Dawson. He called the helpdesk daily but was upset he was not given an estimation of when the issue would be resolved. 'They are providing an essential service and this shouldn't happen.' Mr Cadell Deng, 35, who works in the education technology sector, said he missed most of the live action on the May 3 polling day broadcast. After switching to his mobile phone's hotspot, the TV stream was so blurry that he could barely see which candidates were on screen. He also had to reconfigure some smart appliances such as air-conditioning unit and smart lights as they failed to be connected to the Internet even after broadband connections for his home improved on May 4. Freelance writer May Chen, 38, said her connection kept dropping repeatedly since April 29, locking her out of work apps like Google Docs and WhatsApp. Ms Chen used her phone's mobile hotspot as a backup, but lamented that her mobile broadband is not as fast as fixed broadband. 'It's just frustrating because I've paid for the service and expect it to deliver.' MyRepublic, another broadband service provider, was also investigated by IMDA over a series of service disruptions between July and September 2024, which the company said then was due to an issue caused after a system migration. IMDA did not respond to queries about the results of the investigation. Under IMDA's telecommunications quality of service standards, errant operators can be fined up to $50,000 for each instance of non-compliance. M1 and StarHub were handed fines totalling $610,000 for causing Internet service disruptions in 2020. The outage had affected those working from home or attending home-based learning during the Covid-19 circuit breaker period then. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
