Sky Sports beat Netflix to £125m deal for TV rights to World Darts Championship as Luke Littler effect sees price double
THE PDC Darts World Championship is staying on Sky Sports – despite fierce competition from two streaming giants.
Netflix and Amazon both made bids for the rights to show the Ally Pally showpiece from next year.
Luke Littler’s success has helped create a bidding war for PDC World Championship TV rights[/caption]
Sky have broadcast the annual tournament every year since 1993[/caption]
Sky has reportedly penned a new five-year contract worth at least £125 million with the PDC.
It will ensure the annual competition is broadcast on the platform until 2030.
According to The Telegraph, the mammoth deal is “more than double Sky’s existing rights fee”, which has risen in part due to the “Luke Littler effect.”
Littler, 17, won his maiden world title earlier this month, beating three-time champ Michael van Gerwen.
The teenager’s rapid rise has resulted in a surge in popularity for the sport – a trend backed up by a recent ticket study.
Streaming services Netflix and Amazon “both made offers during the bidding process,” according to the report.
But they were seen off by Sky, who have shown the tournament exclusively since 1993.
Darts is now second only to football as the broadcaster’s biggest sport.
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Littler’s final against MVG attracted a peak audience of 3.1 million, with an average of 2.7 million.
Alongside the World Championship, Sky also broadcast the Premier League Darts, the World Matchplay and the World Cup of Darts.
Next year’s World Champs will be four days longer as the field expands by 32 players to 128.
Littler pocketed a cool £500,000 for beating Van Gerwen in front of a delirious Ally Pally crowd on January 3.
He has since jetted off on holiday with his family to Benidorm.
World Darts Championship – top stories
READ MORE on all the fall-out from Luke Littler’s incredible world title win…
- All the reaction as it happens in our LIVE BLOG
- Littler blows away Van Gerwen to win world title aged 17
- Littler is more than a darts player – he’s a multi-million pound commodity
- Incredible rise in darts viewing figures revealed
- Littler miles off being world No 1 despite £500k win
- Littler breaks incredible record with stunning win
- Fans praise Sky Sports for ‘lovely’ Donna Mardle touch
- Fans in tears as Chris Hoy presents Ballon d’Art trophy
- Van Gerwen makes another X-rated comment on live TV
- Littler reveals unusual preparation for final
- Inside wild celebrations at Littler’s darts academy
- How Littler celebrated incredible win – as tributes pour in
- Littler copies iconic Lionel Messi trophy picture
The 17-year-old stunned holidaymakers in a bar on Wednesday, rocking up to watch his brother play in a local tournament.
Littler returns to action next week at the Bahrain Masters, the first World Series of Darts event of 2025.
