Three German TV Channels Interested In PDC World Darts Championship Broadcast Rights

Three German TV channels "have reportedly announced interest in acquiring the broadcast rights for the World Darts Championship from 2017," according to Manuel Weis of QUOTENMETER. German sports network Sport1, which holds the rights to the event until '17, attracted 1.86 million viewers to this year's final in January. The strong ratings numbers "have enticed free-TV channel ProSieben and pay-TV Sky Deutschland to bid on the broadcast rights for the next rights period." In the U.K., the PDC World Darts Championship "has found a permanent home on Sky." Rights holder Matchroom Sport, however, said that "it will first approach Sport1 before talking to other channels." Matchroom Sport Owner Barry Hearn said that "there will be a price increase for the upcoming rights." Hearn: "When the numbers are right, you are in a strong position" (QUOTENMETER, 2/18).