Shaun Murphy has taken his issue to the BBC. (Image: Getty.)
confirmed that he held talks with someone high up at the concerning how snooker has been broadcast in recent years.
The champion believes that the Beeb putting sessions behind the red button is “ruining the game” after complaints over the number of breaks taken by players.
The national broadcaster made a change in recent years to show the first part of afternoon sessions on One or Two, before viewers had to manually put the second half on via the red button or iPlayer.
Even during a semi-final between Jak Jones and Stuart Bingham, host Hazel Irvine cut into commentary mid-frame to tell those watching that the ending would be taken off TV for House of Games quiz show.
Jones and Bingham were playing a 40-minute epic frame that had run longer than expected, with coverage set to move over after its completion, but had to be cut off early to make way for Osman’s general knowledge programme.
Welsh potter Jones was deliberating over a tricky red that he considered taking on along the side rail, before Irvine interrupted to say: “Well, our time is up here on Two. The conclusion of the frame continues on the red button and the iPlayer and on the website…”
viewers were astonished and Murphy has since discussed the matter with the broadcaster to voice his concerns about the future of snooker.
The BBC’s message as they cut away mid-frame of a World Championship semi-final. (Image: BBC.)
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“Remember the old days when the used to take absolute pelters for the amount of afternoon sessions that had to go off from live and onto the red button?” Murphy questioned on his podcast.
“I spoke to someone very high up about this and they said the biggest contributing factor was the amount of unscheduled breaks the players took. I think it’s ruining the game, I’ve got to be honest, I think it’s one of the biggest blights on our sport.
“I go to the theatre quite a lot, imagine if you went to see a show and 15 minutes in the lead said: ‘Sorry guys I’m just going to nip off’. It can’t happen in any other form of entertainment. It’s totally ridiculous!”
The ’s response that delays in the game is something that Murphy has spoken passionately about, too, .
He believes that his fellow players are taking bathroom breaks solely to slow the game down and put their opponent out of rhythm, while Neil Robertson has suggested a new trial that clamps down on the number of disruptions in a match.
The World Snooker Tour declined to comment on such proposed rule changes when approached by Express Sport.