Sky Sports pulls record audience for World Darts final
January 4, 2024
By Nik Roseveare
A record audience of over 4.8 million people tuned in to watch 2024 PDC World Darts Championship final on January 3rd, making it the most watched darts event ever on Sky and NOW.
A peak audience of 3.71 million watched Luke ‘Cool Hand’ Humphries claim his first ever World Darts Championship title after defeating teenage senstation Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler, a 143 per cent increase on the 2023 final.
The record figure represents the highest ever non-football peak on Sky Sports.
Darts mania has also been seen across social media with 27.6 million WDC final video views across Sky Sports’ social channels on January 3rd. On Sky Sports Darts (Twitter/X), there has been 149.1 million impressions across the whole tournament and 9.9 million video views of content around the final alone (compared to 16.5 million for all of the 2023 tournament). The strong figures continued across Instagram – 11.8 million video views – and a 10.2 million total reach on Facebook. Millions also flocked to Sky Sports website and app, with 2.44 million following the live blog – up 307 per cent YOY compared to the Michael Van Gerwen vs Michael Smith 2023 Final (648k).
Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports Managing Director, commented: “Even more of the nation have fallen in love with the darts over the last few weeks and as a long-term partner of the PDC, we are thrilled that this most entertaining of sports is in the spotlight. Over 4.8m people tuned in to watch the remarkable final last night, making it the most watched non-football sports event ever on Sky and NOW. Our congratulations to both Lukes and to all the players who contributed to such a memorable World Championship. We can’t wait for the Premier League event to get started in February.”
Matt Porter, Chief Executive PDC, added: “This year’s World Championship was record-breaking on every level and it’s fitting that its final reached the biggest audience in the history of the PDC and Sky darts. The two Lukes delivered an amazing contest that kept us all on the edge of our seats and finished off a thrilling and dramatic tournament in memorable fashion. The World Darts Championship is a staple part of Christmas viewing, delivering drama and suspense with every match and it sets up perfectly what is sure to be a phenomenal year for darts.”
Meanwhile, Sky Documentaries has announced the commission of an access-all-areas premium documentary series Darts (working title), which will follow the stories of the players beyond the oche and will be available on Sky and NOW later this year.