The final of the 2024-25 edition of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championships drew another high average viewership owing to the heroics of teenage sensation Luke "The Nuke" Littler.
The final, which saw Littler beat the legendary Michael van Gerwen 7-2 at London’s iconic Alexandra Palace, drew a peak viewership of 3.1 million on UK pay-TV heavyweight Sky Sports.
Although that figure fell below the record 3.7 million that tuned into the 2024 final, which saw Littler fall to rival Luke Humphries, it still represented a major draw for the sport and an indicator of its growth and the public interest in Littler in particular.
It is still the second most-watched darts final on Sky, with the record prior to last year’s final, being Littler’s semi-final win over Rob Cross, being 2.32 million.
The tournament as a whole, which ran from December 14, 2024, through January 3, 2025, did, however, see an overall uptick in viewership across its seven rounds.
Viewership up to the semi-finals averaged 471,000, a growth of 39% year-on-year (YoY) on the 2023-24 edition, with the semi-finals together averaging 1.5 million in viewership.
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By GlobalDataWhile last year’s semi-finals drew more viewers, it shows that the initial rounds of the competition have become more of a draw as darts’ popularity has grown over the past year.
It has been suggested, off the back of this, that the value of the TV rights to PDC competitions in the UK, held by Sky and set to expire in 2025, could as much as double upon the next renewal.
It has already been reported that Sky is set to be in a battle to keep the rights, currently £12 million ($15.2 million) per year over seven years, with streaming services Netflix and Prime Video both set to circle for the rights according to the Daily Telegraph.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Sky is prepared to double its rights fee to a figure in the region of £25 million, although it is likely to fall well short of PDC chair Barry Hearn's demands.
Earlier this year, Hearn warned Sky that they would need to “up the ante” to secure rights in the future, telling the Telegraph that he valued a new deal at approximately £45 million per year, over three times more than the existing contract.
Sky is understood to be reluctant to accept a fee larger than twice its current agreement, but the PDC is hoping interest from Amazon and Netflix will potentially spark a bidding war and bring in a figure close to its asking price.
It is believed that the global streaming companies are particularly interested in the darts event due to its favorable position in the calendar, airing over both Christmas and New Year.
However, back in September, Hearn credited Sky for its long-standing support of darts and suggested he would prioritize a renewal with the company but only at a higher price.
