THE inaugural Players Championship Finals in January 2009 will be screened live on ITV4.
The £200,000 tournament will be held from January 30-February 1 at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, featuring the top 32 money-earners from Players Championship events held in 2008.
The Players Championship Finals will be shown live on ITV4, increasing their coverage of the sport to three major tournaments, following on from the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts and the PartyPoker.net European Championship this autumn.
"We are delighted that ITV4 will screen the first Players Championship Finals," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"Their coverage of the European Championship and Grand Slam of Darts recently has been first-rate, and was reflected in their excellent viewing figures."
The Grand Slam of Darts final on Sunday, between Phil Taylor and Terry Jenkins, received a peak of over 730,000 viewers and an average audience of over 500,000, while three other days in the tournament peaked at over 600,000 viewers.
Dave Fewings, ITV4 Controller said: "Following the huge success of our recent darts events on ITV4, I'm delighted that we are bringing the Players Championship Finals exclusively to our viewers.
"The event is a great addition to our growing portfolio of sport on ITV4 which now includes boxing, tennis, Guinness Premiership Rugby, cycling and UEFA Cup and Champions League football."
Tickets for the Players Championship Finals are now on sale exclusively to DartsTV Annual Subscribers, and go on general sale on Monday December 1 2008.