Matchroom and Sport 1 ink new long-term deal - 09/09/2011
Matchroom Sport have signed has signed a comprehensive new program
agreement with SPORT1 for the German-speaking region. The programme package
comprises the exclusive broadcast rights to numerous sports highlights for TV, online and mobile in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – in particular the PDC World Darts Championship and the European Darts Championships.
The new deal will start in 2012 and run for five years. With the new contract, SPORT1 and Matchroom Sport are further extending their successful collaboration which began in 2005.
SPORT1 will be showing the high-calibre of the Professional Darts Corporation events including the World Darts Championship, the World Matchplay and the UK Open.
The agreement also includes all rights to the PDC Europe events, which means SPORT1 will not only continue to show the European Darts Championship, but also another major tournaments like the Superstars of Darts, featuring the likes of 15-time World Champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, reigning World Champion Adrian Lewis and Dutch maestro Raymond van Barneveld.
As well as world-class darts, the programme package also includes other sports within the Matchroom Sport portfolio, including snooker, boxing, pool, bowling, golf and fishing.
SPORT1 Managing Director Zeljko Karajica said: “With the new deal, we are continuing our successful and longstanding collaboration with Matchroom Sport –which is a bullseye for us too.
“The typically British sports in particular have seen an increasing fan base in
Germany in recent years. We’re also noticing this on SPORT1; for our coverage of the World Darts Championship, our audience peaked at up to one million.”
Barry Hearn, the Chairman of Matchroom Sport: “By continuing our partnership with SPORT1we are establishing a long-term presence in Germany for our high-calibre sporting events.
“And what’s more, the multimedia representation and staging on the TV, online and mobile platforms of SPORT1 provides an excellent basis for reaching the growing fan base, for example for darts, on all media channels – and to further increase the popularity of these sports brands.”
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