Darts set for huge shake up with free-to-air channel showing tournaments
Channel 5 looks to have usurped darts from ITV and they will become the sport's free-to-air home once the Players Championship in November comes to an end following nearly two decades of showing darts
Darts is set for major changes when it comes to broadcasting with a number of tournaments to be shown on Channel 5. The sport will switch over from ITV when their deal ends after the Players Championship in November.
ITV4 has shown the European Championship, World Series of Darts, Players Championship, UK Open and the Masters since 2008, but rivals Channel 5 are now close to securing the free-to-air broadcast rights for those tournaments.
Matchroom run the PDC and they will take charge of production for all events that are not shown on Sky Sports. Matchroom are also going to select the new broadcast team with ITV staff - including presenters and commentators - no longer set to be present, reports The Sun.
Matchroom chairman Barry Hearn said of the switch: 'We live in a numbers game. ITV4 has been fantastically successful for us in the numbers it's got. We need to be more encouraging to the younger market, which involves talking to them in the language that they understand and the medium that they understand.
'And that's why the world is becoming more digital. The future is more Netflix than free-to-air. It's going to involve a multiple number of broadcasters. Some free-to-air, some behind the pay model. People will be able to watch what they want to watch, the sports they want to watch, when they want to watch it and for a price they can afford. I find that really exciting.'
It was announced back in February that Sky Sports would remain the home of darts in the UK and Ireland until 2030 amid talk of the sport's bosses looking to take it elsewhere and cash in on the hype, which has boomed since the arrival of Luke Littler.
The five-year extension to the partnership means the collaboration between Sky and the PDC will extend to almost 40 years. Sky has been the long-term broadcast partner of the PDC since 1993 and has aided the sport's growth.
Viewing reached new heights last year when a record audience of over 4.8m people opted to watch the 2024 World Darts Championship final when Luke Humphries beat a then 16-year-old Littler, who was making his presence known for the first time.
A peak audience of 3.71m watched the two Lukes slug it out, which was the highest ever figure on Sky Sports for a non-football event. This year more strides have been taken with the sport in the midst of its weekly Premier League rounds.
Hearn previously said: "For my mind, and I've got nothing against golf, but I want to see darts and snooker have bigger prize money than golf because I believe it's worth more money than golf in today's commercial world."
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