Pay-TV heavyweight Sky has signed off on a major rights extension with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), maintaining a long-standing relationship between the two parties.
Through a five-year deal renewal unveiled today, Sky will remain the home of major PDC competitions until 2030, with the tie-up to begin with the next edition of the World Championship starting in December 2025.
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The new deal includes 60 days of exclusive live coverage from iconic tournaments such as the World Darts Championship, the Premier League, World Matchplay, the Grand Slam of Darts, the World Grand Prix, and the World Cup of Darts.
Sky has been a UK PDC broadcast partner since that body was established in 1993. The last tie-up between the two parties was struck in late 2017 and covers the 2018-25 cycle.
Reports first emanated that an extension between the two parties was in the offing in mid-January, with the Daily Telegraph publication reporting that a five-year deal would be worth £125 million ($151.9 million) in total.
Sky, according to those reports, beat off competition from streaming players such as Netflix and Prime Video, both of which had supposedly been circling for the rights.
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By GlobalDataEarlier this year, PDC chair Barry Hearn (also the founder and president of PDC promoter Matchroom Sport) told The Telegraph that he wanted £45 million per year through a new deal, over three times more than what is being provided through the present contract.
Although this new deal is short of that figure, £25 million a year, it is still more than double the £12 million per year that the body is currently receiving.
Matt Porter, chief executive at the PDC, said: “We've gone from strength to strength in recent years as a sport, and the record viewing figures and sustained interest achieved by Sky over the past year are a reflection of the unprecedented popularity of PDC events at present. We're determined to continue this growth in the coming years."
Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports’ managing director, added: “The incredible growth in darts viewership on Sky Sports over the last 12 months shows just how much the nation loves this sport. The extraordinary story of last year’s World Championship helped to welcome new younger audiences to the sport and brought increased excitement for fans.”
The final of the 2024-25 PDC World Championship at the Alexandra Palace venue in London drew high average viewership – 3.1 million – owing to the heroics of teenage sensation Luke Littler, who became the youngest ever champion.
Although that figure fell below the record 3.7 million that tuned into the 2024 final, which saw Littler fall to rival Luke Humphries, it still represents a major draw for the sport and an indicator of its growth.
The tournament as a whole, which ran from December 14 through January 3 did see an overall uptick in viewership, year-on-year, across its seven rounds.
