Ronnie O'Sullivan To Launch Dedicated Snooker TV Channel Featuring New Format

Ronnie O'Sullivan is co-launching a new dedicated snooker TV channel that will feature 18 hours of live coverage a week - and a new format.

The seven-time world champion has become involved in various ventures away from the baize in recent years.

He signed a three-year agreement with Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority in 2024 to become the nation's ambassador for snooker.

He has also launched 'The Rocket Method', a 12-episode digital snooker course which features almost 12 hours of video content from 'The Rocket' himself.

Now, O'Sullivan is involved in the launch of Pluto TV's new dedicated snooker channel, Pluto Snooker 900, which launches on Monday, October 6.

As well as 18 hours of live snooker coverage per week, the channel will also feature classic matches.

It is the new home of the Snooker 900 format, which is in its relative infancy having being launched three years ago by Jason Francis, the creator of the World Snooker Seniors Tour.

The format is played over 15 minutes, with a 20-second shot clock enforced and a blue-ball shootout in the event of a tie.

Alongside O'Sullivan, Jimmy White and Ken Doherty will both be involved during the launch week of the new channel.

'The Rocket' is no stranger to fast-paced snooker, and won the Premier League - a tournament which featured a shot clock - on a record-breaking 10 occasions during his career.

Speaking to SPORTbible ahead of the launch of the Pluto TV channel, O'Sullivan explained why he wanted to get involved in the new venture.

"I've always liked the short format," he said. "The frames don't drag on forever. It's 15 minutes, 900 seconds, and just whoever's got the most points gets through to the next round. I'm really excited.

"Yeah, absolutely [some similarities to the Premier League]. And not just because I won it. I think it's like a game of football, isn't it? 90 minutes and you're done.

"Sometimes in a snooker match, it could be 45 minutes, or it could be six hours. I don't want to be out there playing for six hours, even if I was going to win. I'd be like, you know, I'd rather have two hours, get beat and go and put my feet up. I just like to play for a certain amount of time, and then we're done, and move on to the next one.

"I'm hoping it just gives aspirations to young players to see somewhere where they can come and start off as a junior, also an amateur. If they're good enough, they go into the amateur side of it. There's nice prize money for everybody to be able to win.

"So hopefully that combination of those two things is a good motivation, for not just the junior players, but for all players when you're playing in it. You're kind of killing two birds with one stone, a chance for people to earn money.

"But also, grassroots snooker being brought back to the UK, where it's desperately needed for British and any players really."

The last number of years in snooker have seen the rise to prominence of several young players, including China's first world champion Zhao Xintong.

The 28-year-old's Crucible final victory over Mark Williams in April could yet prove to be a landmark moment for snooker in the years to come, with snooker significantly growing in popularity in China ever since Ding Junhui turned professional in 2005.

But the likes of O'Sullivan, Williams and John Higgins - the Class of '92 - are still occupying some of the top spots in the world rankings.

And O'Sullivan was cautious over how long it will take for there to be a significant changing of the guard at the top of the sport in the years to come.

"I think I'll still be bashing them up for the next 10 years," he said.

"Listen, I'm still around, John Higgins is still around, Williams is still around. I still fancy my chances, and I'm sure Higgins does, and Williams, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby.

"So although you've had Zhao Xintong do very well to win it, and there's very strong depth in snooker, it's still the 50-year-old's, and lower 40-year-olds, that are dominating the rankings, I suppose."

Another young talent who is making moves is 19-year-old British sensation Stan Moody, who turned professional at the age of 16 in 2023.

Moody has been building his way up the rankings since then, but has taken a major step forward this season.

He defeated Kyren Wilson and Ali Carter on his way to the quarter-finals of the British Open last month, before losing to eventual finalist Anthony McGill.

Many young players will see the Halifax-born cueist as a major example when it comes to Snooker 900 - and O'Sullivan is backing Moody for big things.

"He's a great cueist," he began. "I played him once and I liked what I saw.

"He was very raw at the time, but there was a lot of things there that you think, he's got all the stuff that you need.

"I've been watching his results. He was a very young boy when he first came on [the tour], and the last time I saw him he looks like a young man. So he's kind of maturing into being an adult around the snooker table now.

"He's still very young, but he's had some really good results this season."

Pluto Snooker 900, a brand-new snooker channel, launches exclusively on Pluto TV – the ad-supported free streaming service that features a wide variety of content - on Monday 6th October. The channel, which will initially broadcast 18 hours a week of live snooker, will be the first dedicated snooker channel of its kind and the new home of Snooker 900. To find out more, including how to sign up, click here.

The launch week will feature snooker legends like Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, and Michaela Tabb, marking a landmark moment for cue sports broadcasting. The channel, as in the original version, will also highlight games between women, juniors, and disabled players, offering a new and diverse content for all the snooker fans.