Sky Sports will exclusively broadcast over 60 days of live coverage from the biggest darts tournaments each year until at least 2030.
- Interest in the sport has boomed in the past two years.
- Deal ads to portfolio of sports secured by Sky until the end of the decade.
The new deal between Sky and the PDC will include coverage from the PDC World Darts Championship, Premier League, World Matchplay, Grand Slam of Darts, World Grand Prix and World Cup of Darts.
Viewing has skyrocketed thanks to the successes of Luke Humphries and Luke Littler. Audiences for the 2024/25 World Darts Championship increased 29% compared to the 2023/24 tournament.
This growth has also been prevalent across social media, with 8.2m views on the Sky Sports Darts YouTube channel throughout the 2024/25 World Darts Championship, representing an increase of 78% year-on-year, while YouTube views on the day of the final were up 128%.
Next up for darts fans this year is the 2025 Premier League season, which begins on Thursday 6th February, with fans being able watch all the action exclusively live on Sky Sports and NOW from a 17-week season which runs until the end of May.
▶️ Premier League Darts first night coming to Freeview
Sky grows sports rights portfolio
With the pay TV company facing growing competition from HBO and TNT Sports owner Warner Bros Discovery, Sky has spent the last 18 months cementing its position as the home of sport. It’s secured the rights to key sports until the end of the decade, including:
- Premier League football
- Women’s Super League football
- ATP and WTA tennis tours
- NBA basketball
- ICC cricket,
- PDC darts
Sky also holds the rights to Formula 1 and EFL (until 2029), plus has coverage of every golf Major, NFL, England Netball, Super League and more.
Corporate comment
Jonathan Licht, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said:
“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. 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. We’re excited to keep innovating to tell the stories and bring fans closer to the action through our unrivalled coverage of the biggest darts tournaments for the next five years.”
Matt Porter, PDC Chief Executive, said:
“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’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 and it’s hugely important for us to have Sky working with us to help deliver more exciting tournaments for players, fans and viewers.”
By: Marc Thornham | Image: Sky