DAZN renews rights for PDC darts in DACH region, continues Sport1 sublicensing deal

DAZN, the international sports streaming service, has extended its deal with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), the organizer of top events in the sport, for broadcasting rights in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (DACH) to tournaments run by the body, in a five-year renewal.

The multi-year extension, which runs through until 2026 inclusive, covers the popular Darts World Cup and the Premier League.

It also includes all other major PDC events, like the Masters, the UK Open, the World Cup of Darts, the World Matchplay, the World Series Finals, the World Grand Prix, the European Championship, the Grand Slam of Darts, and the World Series of Darts, with the European Tour to also be added later this year.

In addition, DAZN will produce content about the tournaments' best players that will be made available to watch on-demand.

Thomas de Buhr, executive vice president DAZN DACH, said: “The past Darts World Cup showed again: the interest and enthusiasm of the fans for the sport is unbroken. With the long-term contract extension, we are therefore responding to the wishes of all fans, who can look forward to many more years of darts live on DAZN …”

Eddie Hearn, chairman of the PDC, added: “Since 2016, DAZN's coverage of the PDC events in the DACH region has proven very popular and has helped build a loyal fanbase who love the sport. As such, it is fantastic news that we are continuing our broadcasting partnership with DAZN in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, expanding coverage for the ever-growing number of subscribers.”

As part of the new agreement, Sport1, the German commercial sports broadcaster, will continue to show PDC darts through a sublicensing agreement in the DACH region with DAZN, also until 2026.

That deal will see an increase in the amount of action broadcast on Sport1, with coverage being made available on free-to-air TV and digital platforms.

Of that element to the new deal, Olaf Schroeder, chief executive of Sport1 Medien, said: “The continuation of our extensive darts cooperation with DAZN is another big and important step into a successful future for Sport1 after the acquisition of the Bundesliga rights - and great news for all fans.”

Barry Hearn, president of the PDC, commented: “We have had the benefits of Sport1 televising darts for a number of years and their coverage has been a major reason for the explosion of interest in our sport in Germany.”

Earlier this week it was announced that DAZN will double its monthly subscription fees in Germany from February.