The broadcasting rights contracts with Sky Sports and ITV for PDC darts both expire next year and Barry Hearn has specifically warned Sky Sports that they will need to ‘raise the ante’ in order to retain their rights.
Last week Matchroom Sport (parent company of PDC) announced a new one-year contract extension with ITV for the broadcasting rights to continue televising major snooker and darts events.
For darts, this includes The Masters, UK Open, European Championship, Players Championship Finals, a number of World Series of Darts events and the World Series of Darts Finals.
Many readers will be aware that the majority of televised majors including the World Darts Championship alongside the Premier League of Darts are all broadcast by Sky Sports.
Sky Sports have now been broadcasting PDC darts for three decades since 1994 and have undoubtedly played a part in its huge growth alongside Barry Hearn at Matchroom.
As the current contract with Sky Sports also expires next year though, this has opened the door for the PDC to explore new broadcasting opportunities and Hearn has more than hinted that renewing these rights will not come cheap for Sky…
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Hearn Warns Sky Sports to ‘Up the Ante’ for New Broadcasting Deal
Speaking on the second episode of his new podcast, The Barry Hearn Show, Hearn talks openly about how Sky Sports have a big fight on their hands to keep their broadcasting rights for PDC darts.
When asked about the Sky deal having just one year left, Hearn responded:
“Handy, that’s very handy. Timing is the essence of everything isn’t it.
“Listen, we owe Sky a massive, massive debt. They stuck with us in the early days and loyalty is a big part of our business but also, I have a massive responsibility to players to maximise their earnings.
“There’s going to be some interesting conversations. I really hope Sky raise the ante, understand what they’ve built and understand what it’s worth.
“Compare us to anyone else. Show me what you pay Rugby Union, Rugby League, show me what you pay golf and tell me why I don’t get the same or more.
“Everybody, again everybody’s got to do well out of this deal, it has got to work for everyone. I hope it’s Sky because they deserve it because of the work they put in.
“But, respect, that word you used earlier. Just give us respect and we’ll be fine. We’ll be fine and we’ll deliver value on a global scale you’ve not seen before.”
When speaking on the first episode of his new podcast, Hearn already mentioned that Sky Sports lost its huge boxing package to sports streaming service DAZN because they put in an ‘unmatchable’ offer to Matchroom.
That deal was led by Barry Hearn’s son, Eddie Hearn, who is the chairman of Matchroom Sport and the PDC.
Coincidentally, Barry also mentioned that Eddie has now noticed how much potential there is for ‘money in darts’.
Could this be a hint that he’s exploring avenues similar to boxing whereby a sports streaming service with big pockets could enter negotiations?
There’s no information on that yet but other broadcasters will definitely be keen to secure broadcasting rights for darts major competitions.
The 2024 World Darts Championship final between Luke Humphries and Luke Littler was the most watched non-football event in Sky Sports history with a viewership of 4.8 million.
That shows that not only is darts a growing sport but that it’s ALREADY a very lucrative one in terms of viewership.
What do people think of this news? Do people want it to stay with Sky or would they prefer to see these broadcasting rights go elsewhere.
Let us know in the comments below 👇
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