ESPN acquire rights to Winmau World Masters darts

July 6, 2011   ·   0 Comments

ESPN has secured an agreement to televise its first live darts programming in the UK, and will provide live coverage of the British Darts Organistion (BDO) 2011 Winmau World Masters, a tournament previously screened by the BBC. 

ESPN will broadcast live and exclusive coverage of all sessions from the 2011 Winmau World Masters, from Friday 2 September to Sunday 4 September. The event is being extended to three-days for the first time as part of the agreement. Martin Adams, reigning World Masters and World Professional Darts Championship title holder will be seeking a fourth consecutive win when the action gets underway in Hull Arena.

Sanctioned by the BDO, the tournament is the oldest established major in World Darts (first played in 1974), with players including Adams, Ted Hankey – the World Professional Darts Championship winner in 2009, John Boy Walton, the 2001 World Professional Darts Champion, and Dean Winstanley – the World Professional Darts Championship runner-up in 2011.

The Winmau World Masters – ESPN’s first live darts programming in the UK – further extends the range and variety of sports ESPN offers to fans. ESPN’s live televised darts coverage will be led by Ray Stubbs, presenter of both the BDO World Professional Darts Championships and the Winmau World Masters for several years during his time with the BBC. All discussion and analysis will come live from the tournament, capturing the environment and connecting viewers to the unique atmosphere of live darts.  Ray will be joined by commentary team David Croft & Tony Green.

Olly Croft, Managing Director of BDO Enterprises Ltd said “After nine consecutive years with BBC Sport, the World Masters is moving to ESPN”

He added : “In thanking the BBC for establishing the World Masters as a TV favourite, we are now delighted to be forging a new and innovative broadcasting relationship with ESPN to provide an even bigger three-day tournament from a venue new to BDO darts for our players, officials and sponsors.”

Tags: BBC, BDO, ESPN, Olly Croft, Winmau World Masters