LONDON, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The World Snooker Championship, which runs from April 15 to May 1, will be broadcast live on Facebook throughout North and South America as well as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, organizers announced on Tuesday.
Fans in those territories will be able to watch the event free simply by connecting to World Snooker's Facebook page.
The live broadcast will include coverage of both tables from the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: "This is a momentous announcement for snooker fans worldwide as it means our biggest tournament will have a far greater global reach than ever before. We already have a television audience for the World Championship in excess of 300 million in over 100 countries (and regions), and now we want to broaden our reach across the entire planet via Facebook Live.
"For the countless millions of fans in these territories this is fantastic news as they will be able to watch all 17 days of the tournament live and free, simply by logging on to our Facebook page.
"For us this strategy is about reaching out to relatively untapped areas and finding out the strength of the market. Snooker is booming in the UK, Asia and Europe and we are always looking for the next opportunity as we seek to develop as a truly global sport." Enditem
