SKY SPORTS will dedicate an entire channel to darts this Christmas, with "Sky Sports Darts" to broadcast the William Hill World Darts Championship from December 18-January 4.
Sky Sports Darts will launch on December 18 and offer viewers over 370 hours of programming, including live coverage of one of sport’s most colourful events, the William Hill World Darts Championship.
The channel will offer 18 days of non-stop tungsten television, as the biggest names in arrows battle for the Sid Waddell Trophy in front of sell-out crowds at Alexandra Palace.
Phil 'The Power' Taylor, Adrian 'Jackpot' Lewis and defending champion 'Mighty' Michael van Gerwen will be amongst a field of 72 players from around the world, with every clash live on Sky Sports Darts.
Sky Sports 3 will become Sky Sports Darts at 6am on 18 December and be the home of darts until 5 January at Sky channel 404.
As well as live coverage of the World Championship, Sky Sports Darts will screen a host of programmes and features including fascinating documentary with reigning champion van Gerwen.
Barney Francis, Sky Sports Managing Director, commented: "The World Darts Championship is one of sport’s most colourful events and for the first time, we’re giving it its own channel. Sky Sports Darts will offer all the drama, excitement and atmosphere from Alexandra Palace for two weeks over Christmas.
"The channel will show every match live, all the build-up and analysis plus a fantastic schedule of features too. We know our viewers love the world darts at Christmas and so do we. We can’t wait for the show to begin."
Phil Taylor, 16-time World Champion, commented: "This is a great Christmas present for Sky Sports viewers and shows that darts is getting bigger and bigger!
"It will be interesting to watch some of the old World Championships from the Circus Tavern again and compare it to now when we play darts in front of thousands every night at Ally Pally and the sport has its own dedicated channel. It shows just how far the sport has come."
Live coverage of the 2015 William Hill World Darts Championship will be presented by Dave Clark who will be joined in the studio by three-time World Champion John Part, former World Matchplay finalist Wayne Mardle, five-time World Champion Eric Bristow and two-time World Matchplay winner Rod Harrington.
More programming on Sky Sports Darts will include 'World Darts Years' looking back at highlights from the Professional Darts Corporation's World Championship from every year from 1994 to 2014, a series of Legends specials and a look back at some of the sport's best matches, including the 2003 World Championship final where JohnPart ended Phil Taylor's run of eight successive World Championships, and the game that changed darts forever; the World Championship final between Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor in 2007.
Sky Sports will offer unprecedented live coverage of the 2015 William Hill Darts World Championship across TV, online and via mobile and tablet devices with Sky Go. Non-subscribers can either enjoy seven days access to the Sky Sports Darts channel and Sky Sports other six channels contract free on TV and a range of devices with NOW TV.