New streaming service Viaplay has agreed a five year deal with the Professional Darts Corporation, which comes into effect from February 2023.
The deal means Viaplay becomes the exclusive home of the PDC European Tour in the UK, as well as on Viaplay in the Netherlands, Poland, Scandinavia and the Baltic.
The PDC European Tour brings darts fans 13 live events across the season. Each event spans three days with eight hours’ competition per day, delivering a total of 312 live hours of world-class action on Viaplay every year up to and including 2027.
Viaplay launched in the UK on 1st November with a unique offering of Viaplay Originals, curated third-party content and live sports. The sports line-up includes all European Qualifiers for the UEFA EURO and FIFA World Cup played by the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland men’s national football teams, along with the UEFA Nations League and friendlies, until 2028. In total, Viaplay holds UK rights to over 1,000 UEFA international matches from across Europe. In addition to its streaming service, selected Viaplay content is available through Viaplay Sports 1, 2 and Xtra (the former Premier Sports/FreeSports channels) on Sky, Virgin Media, Amazon Prime and Netgem.
A monthly subscription currently costs £14.99. Series and films can be accessed through a standalone £3.99 subscription.
Peter Nørrelund, Viaplay Group Chief Sports Officer commented:
“The PDC European Tour showcases darts’ ongoing global growth. Becoming the home of this exciting series in the birthplace of the sport is a further sign of Viaplay’s UK ambitions. The UK has darts at heart and this deal will make our service even more attractive to local viewers. At the same time, we can bring additional thrilling events to fans across our European footprint, where we have worked successfully with the PDC for many years.”
Matthew Porter, PDC CEO:
“Viaplay have become a major broadcaster of PDC events over recent years and this is a natural extension of their coverage. The European Tour, which in 2023 will pay out over £2.2M in prize money, is a much-loved series amongst darts fans and we’re delighted to be able to bring it to a new and wider audience through Viaplay’s numerous territories.”