World Darts Championship to air on Channel 4

Channel 4 has has signed a two-year deal with the British Darts Organisation that will see the broadcaster become the new terrestrial home of the BDO World Darts Championship from 2017-2018.

“We are delighted to agree this deal which sees Channel 4 become the home of BDO Darts on terrestrial TV, adding another popular sport to our schedules and keeping it free-to-air for fans. The darts is a British sporting institution and we look forward to bringing our unique Channel 4 approach to coverage of the Championships.” – Stephen Lyle, Commissioning Editor, Sport at Channel 4

From January 2017 Channel 4 will broadcast live from Lakeside during the afternoon sessions of the men’s and women’s championships in addition to one of the semi-finals and the Women’s Final. All evening sessions will be aired on BT Sport alongside one of the semi-finals. The Men’s Final will air on both Channel 4 and BT.

All of the coverage from the Championships will be broadcast free-to-air on Channel 4 – with live coverage also available throughout the Championships on BT Sport.

Channel 4 has a track record for innovative coverage of major sporting events, which most recently includes the FIA Formula One World Championship™, its BAFTA-winning coverage of the 2012 Paralympic Games, and its BAFTA-winning cricket coverage. In 2016, Channel 4 will also broadcast the Rio Paralympic Games and 90 days of live racing coverage including The Grand National, Royal Ascot and The Derby.

“We took considerable care in selecting our broadcast partner and we are highly delighted that Channel 4 is that partner. Through its channels and BT Sport, all the sessions will be shown live with additional highlights shows and innovative content online. We were particularly pleased with Channel 4’s fresh approach and new ideas and the track record they have for this with other sports in their portfolio. We believe this will appeal to a broader demographic of viewers. This is an excellent partnership for the BDO, both commercially and in terms of the right strategic partner to further strengthen BDO darts.” – Sue Williams, Chairman of the BDO

Further details on Channel 4’s coverage and presenting line up for the 2017 BDO World Darts Championship will be revealed by the broadcaster shortly.