Sky Sports have fought off interest to retain the rights to PDC darts in a huge new £125million deal.
Darts as a sport has boomed to new popularity in recent years, with millions of fans tuning in to see the biggest stars and events produce some magic at the oche.
PDCDarts will remain on Sky Sports and receive a £125 million cash injection[/caption]
Sky Sports currently hold the rights to broadcast events after signing a contract extension in 2018, which saw them hold the rights to broadcast events including the illustrious World Championship until the end of 2025.
But the rights were set to expire this year, and former PDC chairman Barry Hearn encouraged a bidding war for the TV rights.
He insisted Sky Sports needed to fork out big money to beat off the interest of streaming service Netflix.
And they have done exactly that, with a report from the Telegraph revealing they have inked a new £125m deal with the PDC, to broadcast events for the next five years.
The deal, which will run until the end of 2030, includes rights to the Ally Pally extravaganza every December, and is worth more than double their previous extension which was valued at around £12m per year.
It is understood that the deal could even increase in value, if the World Championship event continues to grow in terms of revenue and viewing figures year upon year.
The sport was producing record viewing figures, and is understood to be the platform’s second most watched sport behind football.
There were a whole host of other broadcasters interested in acquiring the rights including streaming service Netflix, who were prepared to pay big money to add to their growing sports portfolio.
But the arrows will remain with its long-term home, where it has been broadcast since the inaugural showing of the 1993/94 World Championship.
The viewing figures have been astronomical in recent years, with the record broken for the 2024 World Championship final as a peak of of 3.71m watched Luke Littler’s defeat to Luke Humphries.
Although this year’s viewing figures were slightly down as Littler’s maiden World Championship win over Michael Van Gerwen in the final was watched by a peak of 3.1m, and an average of 2.7m throughout.
But these figures are still enormous and make it the most watched event behind football, beating the British F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone, which attracted an average of 2.2m viewers to the platform.
Hearn has big plans for the sport alongside PDC CEO Matt Porter, with the sport to continue to grow at an unprecedented rate.
Sky Sports will retain rights to their 60 days of live darts which also includes the World Matchplay, Premier League and the World Championship.
ITV will likely keep the rights to other floor events including the Players Championship and UK Open, which will remain on the free-to-air platform.
But in particular, the World Championship will be a delight to keep hold of for Sky Sports, with the prestigious event set to grow in size next year with the format to be expanded from 96 players to 128 players.
This will give the broadcaster another four days of live action from the tournament.
A new venue with increased capacity is also being sought, which could include a move to the great hall at Alexandra Palace, which can hold an increased capacity of up to 8,000.
Ultimately, the increase of revenue could now see the Darts World Championship prize fund increase, with plans for the winner to net a record £1m jackpot for winning the tournament.
Hearn said: “Darts, as a business, is far bigger than my boxing business, that includes Saudi money.
“I’m so happy with the demand for tickets but also frightened by it because if you constantly don’t deliver, eventually the public go, ‘Oh f*** this, I cannot get a ticket’. We’re at that stage now.
“I’ve got to massively increase the prize money. Would I make it £1million to the winner? I’d like to do it next year, depending on how the TV negotiations work.
“The problem is our success as darts, globally, is exploding. We’ve countries saying, ‘Can we have one or two spots in the Worlds?’
“The audiences this year have pretty much doubled and maintained on the back of Luke Littler.
“We’re under pressure to increase prize money. It started at £300,000 for the year. Now it’s up to £20m.
“It’s still light years behind golf yet we do far bigger numbers around the world. Is it impossible to get it to £20-40m in the next three to four years? I don’t think so.”