Matchroom, PDC, WST sign multi-year ITV deal
January 18, 2021
Matchroom, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), and World Snooker Tour (WST) have signed a new multi-year deal with ITV seeing some of sport’s flagship events remain on free-to-air television in the UK.
ITV’s partnership with Matchroom Group will see a number of sport’s most elite events remain exclusively on ITV4. Snooker’s Champion of Champions promoted by Matchroom Multi Sport join World Snooker Tour events like the Players Championship, World Grand Prix, and Tour Championship as part of the bumper deal.
The PDC has had a long-standing partnership with ITV and it will see the broadcaster continue to cover The Masters, UK Open, European Championship, the World Series of Darts, as well as the Players Championship Finals.
Chairman Barry Hearn OBE said: “We’re delighted to extend our partnership with ITV Sport, they are now long term supporters of our events and have become valuable partners for our sports and will continue to be. We’re delighted to extend our partnership with ITV Sport,”
On Snooker, Hearn added: “We are thrilled to extend our agreement with ITV for another two years. They have been fantastic supporters of snooker in recent times and they are a great team to work with. The quality of their coverage is superb and that is reflected in the outstanding viewing figures we consistently see for all four of the top-class events they broadcast each season. Our many millions of fans in the UK will be delighted by this news because they are guaranteed snooker of the highest quality featuring all of the top stars, with extensive live action on a free-to-air channel. Snooker and ITV are the perfect partners and we look forward to the next two years and beyond.”
Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport, said: “We’re delighted to maintain our partnership with Matchroom with this deal, which means viewers will continue to enjoy live, comprehensive free to air coverage of some of the biggest events in snooker for years to come.”