PDC World Darts Championship to remain on Sky Sports until 2030
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) has signed a five-year extension of its longstanding UK broadcast rights partnership with Sky Sports.
Under the renewal, the PDC World Darts Championship will remain on the Comcast-owned pay-TV network until 2030.
Sky Sports, which has held PDC rights since 1993, will provide more than 60 days of exclusive live coverage each year.
The latest deal comes as interest in the sport continues to surge across the country. Last year’s World Darts Championship final between the UK’s Luke Littler and Luke Humphries drew a record broadcast audience of 4.8 million, with a peak viewership of 3.71 million, the largest ever figure for a non-football event on Sky Sports.
For the 2024/25 edition of the championship, average audience numbers were up 29% on last year’s event.
On social media, Sky Sports’ dedicated darts YouTube channel generated 8.2 million views throughout the World Darts Championship, marking a 78% increase on last year, with coverage of the final up by 128%.
At present, Sky’s content offering includes coverage of the Premier League, WSL, the NFL, the NBA, and Formula 1, as well as ICC cricket events and the ATP and WTA tennis tours.
The renewal comes ahead of the 2025 Premier League season, which gets underway on 6th February.
“The incredible growth in darts viewership on Sky Sports over the last 12 months shows just how much the nation loves this sport,” said Jonathan Licht, Managing Director at Sky Sports.
“The extraordinary story of last year’s World Championship helped to welcome new younger audiences to the sport and brought increased excitement for fans.
“Following another successful tournament, there seems no better time to extend our longstanding partnership with the PDC to remain the home of this uniquely brilliant sport.”
Matt Porter, CEO at the PDC, added, “Sky Sports has been by our side for over 30 years and we’re excited to extend our partnership for the next five years as we experience a surge in growth globally.
“We’re determined to continue this growth in the coming years and it’s hugely important for us to have Sky working with us to help deliver more exciting tournaments for players, fans and viewers.”
Stay up to date with the world of sports business by subscribing to the Sport Industry Daily.
