Barry Hearn hints darts could LEAVE Sky Sports as Matchroom chief reveals negotiations with rival broadcasters

BARRY HEARN has admitted that darts sum could permission Sky Sports.

The broadcaster has agelong held an extended scope of darts rights, including for the World Darts Championship.

Hearn, 76, has a semipermanent narration and affinity with Sky developed implicit galore years.

But the Matchroom supremo has admitted that helium volition not fto sentiment impact his concern acumen erstwhile rights packages are adjacent sold.

Speaking connected The Barry Hearn Show, the seasoned promoter was asked if loyalty "goes retired the window" if Sky don't connection capable money.

He replied: "Absolutely. Let's beryllium perfectly wide astir it. My loyalty is to Sky due to the fact that they were 1 of the reasons wherefore my beingness changed, personally.

"Why darts, and sports similar darts - boxing, pool, each the things I love...

"(But) There's a price. There's a terms - if it's close, loyalty beats everybody."

Asked astir the imaginable percent summation helium is looking for, Hearn added: "I'm not adjacent going to archer you that due to the fact that it's massive, mate.

"I'm lone constricted arsenic Sky are, arsenic TNT, arsenic Amazon, Netflix - we're lone constricted by our ain imaginativeness and I person an tremendous imagination, an tremendous tendency to marque my small imprint connected this sporting satellite by saying, you cognize it's ego arsenic good for me, 'look what I've done'.

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"I emotion that. So portion I similar making money, and everyone knows that, I'm not going to effort and fell down anything.

"I emotion expanding prize money, due to the fact that that's what I'll beryllium judged for, 1 day, is what did you do?"

Darts has enjoyed a sensational emergence successful popularity implicit the past 12 months.

The athletics has go a mainstream smash-hit, peculiarly since the emergence of Luke Littler astatine past year's World Darts Championship.

Following Littler's stunning breakthrough year, Hearn called him the "perfect Christmas present".

He told Sky Sports: "He was my Christmas present. I americium truthful hard to bargain due to the fact that I'm older, and I person got astir of the things I want.

"And past idiosyncratic gave me Luke Littler, and it is the eventual Christmas contiguous I could person had.

"Luke Humphries and him are going to conscionable predominate these darts events.

"But beryllium cautious due to the fact that determination is fractional a twelve truly apical youngsters that are pursuing successful the footsteps of Littler.

"So helium whitethorn not person it arsenic casual arsenic helium thinks."