Darts, Beers, & Cheers!

TV Records For World Matchplay – darts a big draw

I’ve just seen on pdc.tv that they have the viewing figures in from Sky for the World Match Play final – and it shows the sport is in a very healthy position.  Some people might not know that darts is now the no.1 watched indoor sport, and no.2 watched sport (average numbers per broadcast) on Sky Sports!!  Yep that’s right, more people watch a darts match than a rugby/golf tournament.  Get in there!

The WMP tournament, won by Phil Taylor at the Winter Gardens for an 11th time on Sunday night, saw Sky Sports’ live coverage accompanied by the first broadcasts of darts in 3D in over 1,000 pubs across the UK and Ireland.

Away from the 3D coverage, audiences watching on Sky Sports throughout the event were a record for the World Matchplay, which began in 1994.

Sunday’s final saw an average of 468,000 viewers, which peaked at 606,000 viewers during the clash between Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld.

Coverage of the World Matchplay was also shown live in Holland, Germany and Australia, with German broadcasters Sport1 enjoying huge audiences ahead of their screening of the PartyPoker.net European Championship.

Sport1 averaged over 250,000 viewers throughout the tournament, with the final matching the success of Sky Sports’ coverage in averaging 400,000 and peaking at 670,000 fans.

Sport1 will be screening the European Championship in Germany, while Bravo will show the event live in the UK from Thursday July 29 to Sunday August 1.

Bravo can be found at channel 123 on Sky and 136 on Virgin Media.