The PDC today announced a new three-year contract with ITV which will see them broadcast the PartyPoker.net European Championship and Cash Converters Players Championship finals as well as the UK Open and a new event, The Masters.
The deal, covering tournaments in 2013, 2014 and 2015, will see four major PDC tournaments broadcast live on ITV4 as part of the channel’s portfolio of sporting events.
The first event to be broadcast under the new deal will be next month’s PartyPoker.net European Championship, which will be held from July 4-7 in Muelheim, Germany.
ITV will then broadcast a brand new tournament, The Masters, from November 1-3, as the top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit do battle at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh in a three-day event.
The Cash Converters Players Championship Finals, to be held from November 29-December 1, will again be broadcast live from the Butlins Minehead Resort in Somerset.
Finally, the UK Open – which was won by Phil Taylor last weekend in Bolton – will also be broadcast live on ITV in 2014 and 2015, with dates and full information to be confirmed later this year.
“We’re delighted that ITV have made such a significant commitment to the PDC, and to the sport of darts, with this three-year, four-event deal,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
“They have a great enthusiasm for top-level sport, and in these four tournaments they see the best players in darts competing in major championships.
“As part of that, we are extremely excited about the introduction of The Masters, an event which will see the leading 16 players in world darts doing battle to see who really is the best of the best!”
ITV Director of Sport Niall Sloane said: “We are always delighted to work with the PDC, and the new darts tournaments are testimony to their ability to produce first class sporting events.”
