TV rights in Britain for the PDC World Darts Championship have been with Sky Sports since 1994. After the upcoming World Championship, however, their contract expires and PDC president Barry Hearn is looking out for possible alternatives. The 77-year-old is also considering streaming platform Netflix.
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Sky Sports pays about 12 million pounds a year for the current contract, which allows them to broadcast 60 days of live darts annually, including the PDC World Darts Championship. Hearn warned earlier this year that Sky would have to "raise the ante" to get a new deal, and Telegraph Sport found out that he values the contract at about 45 million pounds a year.
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Sky Sports is willing to double their current rights fee to about 25 million pounds, but is reluctant to go much higher and lengthy negotiations have not yet resulted in a deal. Hearn therefore began to look out for alternatives and ended up with Amazon and Netflix. Initial talks with these streaming services have increased confidence that there is real competition for the rights and reinforced the belief that the PDC can strike a big deal.
Close relationship
Important to note here that Hearn already has a close relationship with Netflix, which has begun filming a documentary about his professional dual role with boxing promoter Eddie and their company Matchroom Sport, majority shareholders of the PDC.
Amazon and Netflix are reportedly particularly interested in the PDC World Darts Championship because of its place on the calendar, with both companies confident that a captive audience will be available during Christmas. The growing appeal of darts to a younger audience that make up many of their existing customers also makes it an attractive proposition.
Sky Sports has held the exclusive rights since the first PDC World Championship was launched in 1994. In terms of viewing figures, darts is now Sky Sports' biggest sport next to football leading the PDC to demand a much bigger deal.
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Littler's extraordinary emergence last year produced record figures for Sky Sports: 4.8 million people watched the teenager's defeat in the final against Luke Humphries and TV viewership peaked at 3.7 million, remarkable figures that have alerted American streamers to the growing popularity of darts.
The ratings of Littler against Humphries represented a 150 percent increase over the previous final between Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen, giving Sky Sports the largest number of viewers ever for a non-football match. The viewership peak of 3.7 million was also greater than that of most of Sky's live Premier League matches, with the exception of the top matches between Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal.
Sky Sports is the PDC's longtime partner and that may give them an advantage in negotiating the rights, but Hearn has made it clear he will seek the best deal for the players. “We owe Sky a massive, massive debt,” Hearn said in September. “They stuck with us in the early days, and loyalty is a big part of our business.
"But also I have a responsibility to players to maximise their earnings. There’s going to be some interesting conversations.
“Compare us to anyone else. Show me what you pay rugby union, league, golf, and tell me why I don’t get the same or more. I really hope Sky raise the ante.”
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The moment you have all been waiting for... 🙌
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 27, 2024
Here's the Pre-Christmas Schedule for the 2024/25 @paddypower World Darts Championship, starting December 15.
👉 https://t.co/IoJjAXopxW pic.twitter.com/qjERXBs9Qi
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- Good, absolutely no loss if we never see this dancing goof ever again......no that is not fair. He absolutely cannot and has never been remotely able to dance!richieburnettrocks10-11-2026
- Yes Phil,now the money in the game is bigger than ever,you'd play littler. Well so would I! Retire on your memory Phil,and your successful careerrick6709-11-2026
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026