PDC threatened with legal action amid complaints over the way darts is broadcast
The controversy was sparked by last weekend's World Seniors Darts Champion of Champions event.
1
Ross Montgomery won the tournament with an 8-5 win against Richie Howson in the final.
However, the presence of Raymond van Barneveld caused a ripple in the darting world.
The Dutch superstar was a shock addition to the line-up before crashing out in the semis to Montgomery.
That's because the tournament is part of the World Seniors Darts Tour (WSDT), with Van Gerwen holding an active PDC Tour card.
PDC stars are normally only allowed to feature in competitions sanctioned by their own group.
And any non-PDC tournaments that players do feature in are non-televised.
But the Champion of Champions competition was shown live on PlutoTV, leading to confusion over Van Barneveld's participation.
And now, WSDT promoter Jason Francis claims the PDC could be threatened with legal action over its 'monopoly' on broadcasting live darts.
He believes his group should be able to show off the game's top stars if they want to play in WSDT tournaments.
And with a legal challenge currently in the works over how snooker is televised, a similar one could be coming for the world of darts.
Francis told the Weekly Dartscast: "The PDC have a monopoly on broadcast darts. And if Raymond van Barneveld wants to be a professional player, he has to sign a PDC contract.
'There's no negotiation, there's no option, and because of their dominant position, what other choice do players have?"
"If you have more than one person competing for the services of a professional sportsman, who wins? Ultimately, the player wins and the darts fan wins.
"Why is that? Because as promoters, we have to put enough prize money up to attract Raynond van Barneveld, Luke Littler or Luke Humphries to our event.
'If someone else is doing that, we then have to fight over price. Then, the ticket prices come down."
"It's no different to when supermarkets compete over a loaf of bread. Competition is good because the customer gets the best deal. But there is no competition in darts.
'The PDC have a complete monopoly on darts, and it is something that, in snooker, we are legally challenging. If that is successful, I would expect that to follow on in darts as well."
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