Thursday 14 December 2017 13:25, UK
As Sky Sports prepares to show its 25th Darts World Championships, the PDC has agreed a new broadcast deal that will take Sky’s coverage into a fourth decade.
Running until 2025, Sky customers will be able to watch the best of live darts throughout the year, including the sport's biggest tournament, the William Hill World Darts Championship.
Sky Sports' relationship with the PDC started in 1993/1994 when it broadcast the World Championship, which has evolved from its first home at the Circus Tavern in Essex with 24 players and a prize pot of £64,000 to the world-famous Alexandra Palace in London with triple the number of competitors and a prize fund of £1.8m.
The new contract will give Sky Sports customers 60 days of live darts throughout each year, featuring the William Hill World Championship, Unibet Premier League, BetVictor World Matchplay, bwin Grand Slam of Darts, Unibet World Grand Prix and Betway World Cup of Darts.
For the first time, Sky Sports customers will be able to enjoy new, dedicated, darts programming across the year, including The Darts Show - a 12 episode, monthly magazine programme exclusive to the Sky Sports Action & Arena channels from January 2018.<p>The channels will also broadcast the Unibet Premier League Darts live from Berlin - a new host city on the 16-stop tour and home to the fastest growing darts market in the world.
With this years' Worlds starting on Thursday, fans can enjoy every lunchtime and evening session live and exclusive on Sky Sports Darts HD (channel 408). The Sky Sports Main Event channel will also simulcast live play on specific days, and non-Sky customers can follow all the action with daily, weekly or monthly sports passes from NOW TV.
For the first time, Sky Sports customers will be able to enjoy new, dedicated, darts programming across the year, including The Darts Show - a 12-episode, monthly magazine programme exclusive to the Sky Sports Action & Arena channels from January 2018.
The channels will also broadcast the Unibet Premier League live, including the inaugural night in Berlin - a new host city on the 16-stop tour and home to the fastest growing darts market in the world.
The announcement continues a series of strong major rights deals for Sky Sports over the past 12 months; including deals with the EFL and ECB, Women's Six Nations Rugby, UEFA Qualifiers, and from 2019, Sky Sports will become the exclusive home of Formula 1® in the UK & ROI.
"Working with the PDC for a quarter of a century we have shown over 1000 matches, more than 300 players and nine thrilling nine-darters, together helping darts become the phenomenon it is today," said Sky Sports Managing Director Barney Francis.
"Sky Sports customers love it, we love it and we are excited about what the future holds. Alongside recent long-term deals for England cricket, EFL and F1, Sky Sports has a rich sporting future to look forward to."
The 2018 World Championship from Alexandra Palace starts on Thursday, December 14 and ends New Year's Day - coverage available on Sky Sports Darts.
Keep up to date with the news as the PDC celebrates 25 years on Sky Sports. So get all the latest at sky.mnosports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts - don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
