Van Gerwen does not see darts broadcast rights behind pay wall as a problem: 'Just take a subscription'

The darts TV rights in The Netherlands will move from RTL 7 to the Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) after the upcoming PDC World Darts Championship. The new streaming platform Viaplay will broadcast the darts tournament behind a pay wall.

This means that darts can no longer be seen on the public channel. Michael van Gerwen, who in recent years has given RTL 7's viewing figures quite a boost, does not see this as a problem.

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"Nowadays everyone has Netflix, Videoland, Disney + and Prime, right?", he explains to the NOS. "More money is released again and that flows to players, talents and the women. That's how you grow as a sport again. So I would say: people, get yourself a subscription!''

Darts commentator Jacques Nieuwlaat is less positive about this development. "This is very bad for the sport. Out of sight, out of mind, they sometimes say. If the viewers walk away, it will be difficult to sell out Ahoy (the venue for the Premier League in Rotterdam)."

Dirk van Duijvenbode, one of the new eye-catchers of Dutch darts, is still unsure how this development will work out. "We will see. I have loyal sponsors, so I'm not worried about it. But it can really go either way.''