- Sky Sports have reportedly agreed a bumper new TV rights deal with the PDC.
- Deal said to be worth £125m as darts popularity continues to rise
Sky Sports has reportedly signed an exclusive streaming deal with the PDC, beating out competition from streaming giant Netflix in the process.
The broadcaster has been the exclusive home of the sport's most prestigious events since Professional Darts Corporation split from BDO in 1993.
At this year's event, Luke Littler continued his rise to stardom, surpassing his inaugural tournament appearance and becoming the youngest world champion in history at just 17 years old.
According to a report by sport telegraphSky has signed a deal worth £125m over five years to continue broadcasting major darts events.
The fee is said to be more than double that of the previous deal, and comes as the sport has grown in popularity in recent years.
Sky was reportedly not the only interested party, as the broadcaster faced competition from Netflix and Amazon during the bidding process.
Sky Sports has reportedly agreed a bumper new exclusive broadcast deal with the PDC.
The deal comes after Luke Littler defeated Michael van Gerwen to become world champion earlier this month.
PDC boss Barry Hearn had previously stated that Sky would need to “up the ante” amid interest from both Netflix and Amazon.
With the original deal coming to an end, PDC chairman Barry Hearn warned Sky in November that they would need to “up the ante” to secure the rights in the future.
As well as the World Championship, which will return with an expanded 128 competitors in December, Sky will also retain broadcast rights to the Premier League Darts, World Matchplay and World Cup of Darts.
The deal comes after it was reported that darts had become Sky's second biggest sport, behind only football.
Despite attracting slightly lower peak numbers than the 2024 final, Littler's win over Michael van Gerwen earlier this month boasted a peak audience of 3.1 million viewers, averaging a 2.7 during the whole confrontation.
To put those numbers into perspective, Lewis Hamilton's historic triumph at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix in July averaged 2.2 million viewers.
The PDC will likely use the increase in television revenue to increase the prize fund for the next World Championship.
Littler claimed a £500,000 winner's share of the £2.5 million prize fund for his victory at Alexandra Palace.
That figure has remained the same since 2019, when it was increased from the £400,000 won by Rob Cross in the previous tournament.