EUROSPORT has long been a go-to TV channel for followers of a variety of relatively niche, less mainstream sports, but from February 28 it will cease broadcasting in Britain.

The channel’s programming is set to become part of TNT Sports as Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), the owner of both channels, wants to bring all of its sports broadcasting under the TNT banner in Britain. This will lead to significant increases in subscription costs for viewers who want to continue watching these sports.

Snooker fans are among those most affected by the move. Eurosport had become the go-to broadcaster of the sport, while its Discovery+ streaming service offered even more in-depth, comprehensive coverage, including qualifying rounds and peripheral tables at events for an extra £6.99 per month.

The standalone subscription cost for TNT Sports via Discovery+ is £30.99 per month, £30 on Sky and £18 on Virgin Media. It’s a significant increase whichever way you look at it.

Since its emergence in the early 1990s, Eurosport has been a staple channel amid the growth of cable and satellite television in Britain, playing a big role in the increased variety of sporting events shown on TV.

In Britain, Eurosport is included with Sky and Virgin TV packages, so anyone who gets their TV services through either of these companies will usually have access to the channel regardless of the level of package they are on.

Whatever provider you used, Eurosport was usually there — a mainstay of sports broadcasting, while other non-Sky sports channels came and went.

The channel steadily became a home for snooker, having first broadcast it in 2003. Using its advantage of sports-only scheduling, in contrast to the BBC or ITV, it was able to give tournaments more comprehensive live coverage.

When the World Snooker Tour signed a 10-year deal with Eurosport in 2016, which saw the channel commit to covering 18 tournaments per season, the then World Snooker chairman, Barry Hearn, described it as “a very significant moment” for the sport.

“Eurosport has played a crucial role in the rapid growth of snooker across the continent over the past 13 years, making it one of the most popular and highest-rating sports in the region,” Hearn added.

“The players are now travelling to many corners of the continent and seeing a newfound passion among fans who might not have even heard of snooker until they saw it on Eurosport.”

In 2023, Belgium’s Luca Brecel became the first player from continental Europe to win the World Championship, while last year’s qualifying stages included players from Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Estonia, and Hungary.

Eurosport has regularly shown flagship events, including the World Championship, alongside the BBC and has always been a handy alternative to switch to if the Beeb’s live coverage is interrupted due to its other programming.

Is that prolonged safety battle more entertaining than Flog It or Pointless? You decide.

That choice has now been taken away, as Eurosport has been swallowed by TNT Sports.

Part of snooker’s continued, and increased, popularity in recent years is thanks to a steady stream of events being shown on free-to-air, whether via the BBC or ITV.

Eurosport’s relatively wide availability and comprehensive coverage, including post-match interviews with players and analysis from pundits such as Jimmy White, Ronnie O'Sullivan, and Alan McManus, has also played a part.

There have been many examples of sports moving to specific subscription-only channels for the extra broadcasting revenue, only to see the popularity and wider awareness of the sport decline.

It’s not a surprise when this happens. Despite the growth of streaming platforms, free-to-air broadcast or network TV still attracts the most viewers.

The convenience, availability, affordability, and additional reliability when compared to watching TV via a paid subscription streaming service means traditional TV broadcasts are still hugely popular.

There is hope that the move could see more snooker appear on WBD’s own Freeview channel, Quest, while in other positive news, the BBC recently announced that it will continue to show the Triple Crown events — the Masters, UK Championship and World Championship — until 2032.

The World Snooker Tour needs to make sure the sport builds on its current popularity, which has been partly on the back of TV availability at little to no additional cost to fans.

The removal of Eurosport in Britain and the increased subscription fee to receive TNT Sports threaten that, and will mean there are far fewer eyes on certain tournaments once they are behind this costly paywall.

It is the end of an area for sports variety on TV in Britain, and followers of many sports, from skiing to cycling and from superbikes to snooker, will be sad to see Eurosport go.