ESPN, the major US sports network, has announced a new domestic broadcast agreement with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
As part of the deal, the sport's biggest events will be shown live across the ESPN2 channel and the ESPN+ streaming service in the United States.
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ESPN will provide coverage of PDC tournaments such as the flagship World Darts Championship, World Matchplay, Grand Slam of Darts, and the World Grand Prix.
Coverage begins with this week's 2026 US Darts Masters from New York's iconic Madison Square Garden, before continuing in July with the nine-day World Matchplay event in Blackpool, England.
Matt Porter, PDC chief executive, said: “Interest in the sport continues to grow at an incredible rate around the world, particularly in North America. Having our events available on ESPN's platforms will allow even more fans to follow the sport's biggest tournaments and players.
“The United States is an increasingly important market for the PDC and we look forward to working with ESPN to continue growing the sport in the years ahead.”
The PDC has secured several broadcast deals in international markets this year as it broadens the sport’s exposure.
In recent omnths, the organization has signed rights agreements with VTM in Belgium, DAZN in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, L'Équipe in France, and Viaplay in the Netherlands.
In the UK, PDC’s home market, Sky holds the main package of rights to its events, while commercial broadcaster ITV renewed its agreement last October to provide coverage of the The Masters, UK Open, European Championship, and the Players Championship finals, as well as a minimum of seven events from the World Series of Darts, including the finals, across its ITV4 linear channel and ITVX streaming platform until 2028.
