Sky Sports are set to retain the UK broadcasting rights to the vast majority of PDC darts for a further five years.

The deal, which started back in 1994 when the PDC and BDO split, is to continue until the end of the 2029 Grand Slam of Darts.

According to a report in the Telegraph, the new deal is for more than double the previous one, with Sky paying £125 million for the rights.

Sky Sports fights off Netflix and others to keep PDC darts

After signing their most recent extension to their deal back in 2018, it guaranteed Sky Sports seven years of PDC darts on screen until the end of the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts.

In the last 12 months or so though, darts has exploded in popularity, with it now being Sky’s most watched sport behind football.

This year’s World Darts Championship Final, which saw Luke Littler defeat Michael van Gerwen, had a peak audience of 3.1 million, with an average of 2.7 million watching the whole match.

Although that’s down on last year’s peak of 3.71 million when the then 16-year-old Littler was beaten by Luke Humphries, the final was still Sky’s biggest non-football audience of the last 12 months by some margin, beating the British Grand Prix at Silverstone which attracted an average of 2.2 million viewers.

This meant that other companies such as streaming giants Amazon and Netflix, as well as TNT Sports in the UK, were interested in trying to take the rights, leading to PDC President Barry Hearn telling Sky to “up the ante” if they wanted to keep them.

Sky ultimately listened to Hearn and have found the money to extend the deal, one of their longest since the broadcaster began in 1990.

World Darts Championship set to be expanded

The new deal gives Sky over 60 days of darts, and sees them keep all their current events, including the World Darts Championship, Premier League and the World Matchplay.

The Telegraph also report that as well as doubling the income they receive for the TV rights, the PDC is understood to have been swayed by Sky’s history in darts, and what it regards as its outstanding coverage and established audience, which the two parties have grown together.

Sky’s ability to promote darts to football fans is also believed to have played a significant role in growing the sport.

The money could also increase if the World Championship field expands. Next year, it will increase from 96 to 128 players, which will give Sky an extra four days of coverage from Alexandra Palace.

The PDC is likely to use the extra TV money to increase its prize fund, which could see the winner of the event win £1 million for the first time.

While Sky will retain the vast majority of rights, there will still be free to air coverage of other tournaments, such as the UK Open and the Players Championship Finals.

ITV have these rights currently and having been involved in broadcasting darts since 2007, are expected to retain them as well on a longer term deal than the one year contract they have for 2025.