The World Snooker Tour (WST) has extended its media rights partnership with ITV for at least the next two years.
The channel will continue to televise five events in the competition: The Champion of Champions, World Grand Prix, Players Championship, Tour Championship and British Open, until at least 2024.
WST Chairman, Steve Dawson, said: “This new agreement with ITV is fantastic news for the sport, the players and most importantly the British fans, who will be able to watch these huge events on a free-to-air channel until at least the end of 2024.
“Each tournament has its own identity and they have all become outstanding events on our global calendar. We are delighted to extend our relationship with ITV who have been a great partner for many years.
“Their viewing figures for snooker are consistently excellent, and that is due to the exceptional quality of their coverage as well as the perpetual popularity of our sport as a viewing experience. We look forward to working with the ITV team for another two years and beyond.”
The Cazoo Champion of Champions has been running since 2013 and is promoted by Matchroom Multi Sport.
“The Champion of Champions has a burgeoning reputation as one of the most prestigious events on the calendar and we’re delighted to have the continued support of ITV which keeps this event on free-to-air TV in the UK,” added Emily Frazer, Managing Director of Matchroom Multi-Sport.
“We’re excited to see where we push the tournament year on year as we continue to see a huge appetite from the fans to see the 16 champions from the last 12 months battle it out to be the ultimate Champion of Champions.”
Furthermore, The World Grand Prix features only the top 32 players on the one-year ranking list. Only the top 16 go through to the Players Championship then only the elite top eight qualify for the Tour Championship.
Meanwhile, The Cazoo British Open, recently won by Ryan Day, starts with 128 players and features a random draw for every round.
