"If Football, Cricket and Rugby World Cup finals are free-to-air, then so should darts" - Politician argues for Sky Sports to publicly broadcast World Darts Championship final

PDC
Wednesday, 03 January 2024 at 18:00
alexandra palace stage 6581e7828c574
The British political party Liberal Democrats is demanding that the World Darts Championship final between Luke Littler and Luke Humphries be televised on freely available channels. The party is calling on the British government to regulate this.
Sky Sports holds the broadcasting rights to the World Darts Championship in the United Kingdom. As in the Netherlands, the tournament can only be seen on television with a specific subscription.
Parliamentarian Jamie Stone has called on broadcaster Sky to share the broadcast rights for the final with public channels such as BBC and ITV. "The country is gripped by darts fever and the spectacle of a 16-year-old Brit becoming world champion. It would be scandalous for this historic game to be hidden away from millions of people. The final must be on free-to-air TV,'' Stone stated. "If Football, Cricket and Rugby World Cup finals are free-to-air, then so should darts. Sky Sports should do the right thing and share coverage with the likes of the BBC or ITV. Ministers have the power to put pressure on them."