5 picked up rights to World Snooker Tour’s Players Championship and Tour Championship earlier this year

Judd Trump Snooker

ITV Sport Production will produce 5’s coverage of World Snooker Tour events, the first time it has produced a broadcast not carried by ITV. 

The sport division joined ITV Studios in 2024, and has since worked across ITV’s Euro 2025, Tour de France, rugby union and horse racing coverage. 

5 picked up the rights to the Players Championship, Tour Championship and British Open earlier this year, and ITV Sport Production is confirmed to produce the first two of those.

The Players Championship will take place 17-22 February, with the Tour Championship running 30 March-5 April. The British Open is slated for 31 August-6 September. 

Katie Shanahan will present live coverage of Snooker on 5 and will be joined by seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry as a pundit. Other members of the presentation team include former Masters winner Alan McManus, Steven Hallworth, David Hendon, and Abigail Davies.

Mark Demuth, managing director of ITV Sport Production, said: “We are thrilled to partner with 5 on their snooker coverage, an exciting new venture bringing prestigious WST events live to mainstream TV. This marks a pivotal moment for ITV Sport Production, as we strategically expand beyond ITV network and leverage our production expertise to produce diverse sporting content for all broadcast platforms, starting with 5.”

Raphael Pendergast, acting head of sport, 5, commented “We’re delighted to be working with ITV Sport Production to bring two of the most prestigious events in the snooker calendar to our viewers. The partnership brings together ITV Sport Production’s world-class expertise with our ambition to deliver high-quality, free-to-air sport to the widest and most accessible audience possible.”

WST chief marketing and communications officer Tom Rowell said: “We have worked with ITV Sport Production on many snooker events in recent years so we know they are a fantastic team and they will help deliver an outstanding product. We’re thrilled to be working with 5 for the first time on these key tournaments. It’s great news for fans that these events remain free-to-air and they can look forward to seeing exciting new ideas in the coverage.”