
Crowds and crew return to the Crucible for the World Snooker Championship By George Bevir
Wednesday, April 27, 2022 - 10:28
Print This Story
For the past two years, an important element of the World Snooker Championship has been largely absent: fans. Spectators were almost completely shut out in 2020, with just 300 allowed to watch the last two days of action and in 2021, the return of spectators was staggered as the tournament progressed.
This year, there has been a full return of snooker fans to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for the duration of the event. Alongside fans, production teams have also returned, with IMG opting to move away from remote production for this year's tournament, which concludes on 2 May.
IMG executive producer Alison Witkover says viewers are likely to appreciate the return to normality. She says: It now feels like we are able to get backstage and behind the scenes more than we have been able to do for the past two years, which will make a difference for viewers - and we hope that the TV audience will feel the tension and atmosphere as we build-up to the Crucible Final.
We did some investigation and analysis into whether remote production was the best route forward, having done it in 2020, when our studio was remote and we had very minimal presence on site. That isn't really the way we wanted to continue.
Snooker fans around the world will be able to tune into the IMG Productions Scotland-produced feed, with the production firm responsible for the UK Championships, the Masters and the World Championships. IMG provides the two-table match coverage which is sent out around the world plus all the BBC's produced coverage, including its presentation, which is fronted by Hazel Irvine.
Across Europe, the tournament is streaming via discovery+ and available via Eurosport, which manages its own presentation. This year, Radzi Chinyanganya is presenting World Championships coverage for the first time after he was named as the broadcaster's host for all three of snooker's triple crown events. Discovery says it has also introduced more touch screen analysis than before, with Ronnie O'Sullivan set to join pundit Jimmy White, subject to his playing schedule (O'Sullivan was leading his quarter-final match at the time of publication).
Meanwhile, DAZN (Canada, US, Brazil), Rigour (China), Now TV (Hong Kong) and Sky Sports (New Zealand) are among those airing the tournament, with tournament promoter Matchroom also showing the action via its matchroom.live online player.
For Witkover and the IMG team, planning began before the season started, with feature content for the whole season filmed from October onwards. Additional content was produced before and throughout the World Championship, but rigging for the tournament only started about a week before the first match took place. And this year, that has meant a shift away from remote production.
We're more or less back to how we produced the coverage in 2019, says Witkover, who has worked on the World Snooker Championships since 1998.
We did some investigation and analysis into whether remote production was the best route forward, having done it in 2020, when our studio was remote and we had very minimal presence on site. That isn't really the way we wanted to continue - we wanted our main presentation on site so that we have access to the players and can bring the unique Crucible atmosphere to life.
The decision to base staff on-site was made after careful consideration by IMG's production executive.
We did a lot of Albert (Bafta-led sustainability initiative) calculations and because it's a long event and everyone comes and stays put for the 17 days, the sustainability side of it didn't come into play so much because everyone is able to walk into work rather than driving in [to a remote production centre]. We also choose hotels that use certified green energy providers to minimise our carbon footprint. Because we are on site and we stay fairly locally, we have more flexibility with crew scheduling, which is more efficient than when we produced the coverage remotely.
IMG is working with production services and outside broadcast firm NEP, which is providing the facilities for the host coverage as well as the BBC presentation, producing 168 hours of TV coverage for the BBC and even more for the world feed coverage.
NEP has five OB units on site for the event, with Venus used for table 1 match coverage, Mercury for table 2 match coverage, executive producers and loggers, Albiorix for BBC presentation, Voyager 1 providing four edit stations and X-Stream used for one edit position plus a production management office.
The main BBC Studio is located in the Winter Gardens, which is approximately 500 metres from the Crucible Theatre. To connect the two sites, NEP has installed permanent fibres through the ducts that run through Tudor Square which separates the two locations. NEP Connect is providing distribution for IMG, BBC and the world feed.
Some 21 cameras are being used for coverage of the two tables, including minicams for the table pockets and PTZs for comm cams, overhead and beauty shot. After 12 days, when the tournament enters the latter stages and the second table has finished, some cameras will be relocated to provide shots of dressing rooms or backstage action.
Traditionally, during the match, snooker has presented GFX on just camera 1, but we were able to take that brave step to have GFX available on every camera shot which has enabled us to put stats in at any time in the match.
Last week, former world number one Neil Robertson bemoaned the very cramped conditions at the Crucible, and the lack of space is an issue for the production team as well as the players.
We are always looking at new technology, but it is difficult - anyone who has b
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
11/06/2026
As podcast formats evolve in the streaming era, podcasting needs updated, transp...
11/06/2026
As Spotify's global RADAR program enters its sixth year in Italy, a new class of artists is stepping into the spotlight. Today, we're announcing the six...
11/06/2026
Pride Month is a time for celebration, reflection, and amplifying the diverse stories and perspectives from the LGBTQIA+ community that enrich our world. To hel...
11/06/2026
First in new line of muted string libraries
VSL have just announced the launch of two new string libraries that represent the first two instalments in a new...
11/06/2026
New colour option for 61-key Launchkey MK4
At Superbooth 2025, Novation introduced the Launchkey Mini 37 White and Launchkey 49 White, bringing an additiona...
11/06/2026
Larger, but still compact!
Arturia's popular compact MIDI controller keyboard is now available in a, well, slightly less compact version! The new MiniLa...
11/06/2026
Eurosatory 2026: Rohde & Schwarz shapes the new-generation battlefield Rohde & Schwarz unveils next generation SIGINT/EW and CUAS solutions on uncrewed system...
11/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz unveils NEMACS - Directional, ultra secure connectivity for the ...
11/06/2026
MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...
11/06/2026
Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Maxon Brings Real-Time Architectural Visualization to AIA26 With New Redshift fo...
11/06/2026
ABC Kid's Caper Crew Shoots Australian Adventure with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 11, 2026
0 Comments
DP Judd Overton and team bring Wes A...
11/06/2026
PTZOptics, and LayerJot today announced live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how prompt-based AI, robotic camera control, and high-performance computing...
11/06/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, announces the release of GPIO-Button-10S, a dedicated control interface enabling straightforward press-to-a...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Kiloview, a leading innovator in AV-over-IP video solutions, will return to InfoComm 2026 (Booth# N8327) with broadcast-grade AV-over-IP solutions designed for ...
11/06/2026
Australian Games Industry Glossary of Terms 10 June 2026
From DAU and EULA to COT and QADE, here's a list of game industry terms, industry jargon and their...
11/06/2026
Berklee's Tonya Butler Named Music Business Educator of the Year The Music Business Association honored Butler at its annual Bizzy Awards.
June 10, 2026
...
11/06/2026
Ann Mincieli to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee NYC Graduate Commencement The five-time Grammy-winning engineer and producer, known for her longstanding...
11/06/2026
Thursday 11 June 2026
Daisy May Cooper rallies the nation ahead of ICC Women's T20 World CupTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy options and...
11/06/2026
Back to All News
Hadewych Minis and Geert van Rampelberg to Star in New Netflix...
11/06/2026
Back to All News
Official Trailer for Anime Adaptation of Thunder 3' Unvei...
11/06/2026
Summer solstice shows from C il House and Late Date from 9pm on Saturday 20 Jun...
11/06/2026
The GeForce NOW summer sale kicked off today with limited-time savings of up to ...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...