How the PDC is hitting the bullseye with viewers

The recent World Darts Championship saw the competition’s viewership continue its fast rise, with the 51.2 million viewer hours for Sky Sports across the tournament over 100% more than it reached four years before. 

PDC CEO Matt Porter, speaking to Broadcast Sport, put this down to two factors, increased discovery of the sport during the Covid lockdowns and the emergence of teenage star Luke Littler. These saw steady growth over the past two decades turn into a faster surge. 

“He’s opened up doors to a whole new audience and taken interest to a different level,” Porter said of Littler, particuarly with, “a younger audience that gets its news and content from social media first and foremost.” 

This has been part of a wider move across the sport towards youth, that has come to the fore now. Porter noted, “Over the last 20 years there has been a gradual change in the profile and persona of our top players, from mid-40s, and without a brand as that wasn’t something you had then, to a lot of younger 20-30-year-olds that can connect with the younger audience.” 

There has also been a a concerted effort to appeal to audiences outside of the UK and rest of Europe, shown by the addition of more international players for 2025/26. Porter said, “We’ve invested a lot in international growth over the past decade. Darts is played everywhere but not necessarily professional everywhere, and if we want it to be as big as golf or tennis, it can’t have all its top players come from Western Europe.”

Broadcast is seen as a key part of this, with the prestige it brings to a sport part of the appeal. Porter said, “Broadcast is our number one method of spreading the game. We need to get in front of a wider audience everywhere. 

“In places like America and Asia we need to be spoken of in the same way as other sports, and they’ll do that if they see us on TV.”

However, while there is plenty of talk of new audiences and international growth, the World Championship is sticking to its roots with host venue Alexandra Palace. The PDC recently announced a new agreement with the arena, moving the tournament to a bigger hall in the palace. 

While there may have been opportunities to expand in this way in the past, Porter believes, “The important thing for us is to never rush things. We added eight sessions this year and sold out very quickly, so we felt it was the right time.”

Going forward he thinks the London location can continue its role at the centre of darts, and be mentioned alongside other major UK “homes” of sport. “We’ve managed to keep the iconic home of the event whilst increasing the overall scale of it

“We get a great atmosphere everywhere we go but Alexandra Palace feels like the natural home for darts, like Lords for cricket or Wembley for football.” 

Images: PDC