The final of the 2026 Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship drew a peak audience of 2.5 million on Sky Sports as the broadcaster continues to bask in the glow of the Luke Littler effect.
Key details:
- Average viewership for the final was at 1.4 million
- Total viewership for Sky Sports was up 13% year-on-year (YoY) across the tournament, setting a new record
- Viewership was up over 100 per cent compared to four years ago on Sky
- Average viewership for the final in Germany was around two million on Sport1
Context:
Pay-TV broadcaster Sky broadcast the final, which was won by Luke Littler for a second straight year, on two linear channels. Viewership for this year’s decider was down on Littler’s previous triumph, which averaged 2.72 million and peaked at 3.1 million, becoming the second most non-watched non-soccer event ever on Sky at the time.
This was the first World Darts Championship to come under the PDC’s new UK broadcast deal with Sky, which was signed last February. The contract is reportedly worth UK£125 million (US$169.1 million) over five years.
Credit: https://www.sportspro.com/news/broadcast-ott/pdc-world-darts-championship-sky-sports-2026-final-viewership-january-2026/
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