Sports radio station talkSPORT has secured UK radio rights for the 2017-18 William Hill World Darts Championship.
From the opening session today talkSPORT will have updates from the championship at Alexandra Palace in London.
talkSPORT 2 will then have full commentary from Thursday, December 21 up to the quarter-finals on Friday, December 29. Coverage will switch to talkSPORT for the semi-finals on Saturday, December 30 and final on Monday, January 1 respectively.
This year’s championship is notable for the impending retirement of 17-time winner Phil Taylor. This will be his last professional event, with rival Michael van Gerwen looking to secure a third title in London.
The talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2 team includes presenters Ray Stubbs and Andy Goldstein, alongside former darts star Colin Lloyd. Former player and television analyst Bobby George also joins the team.
The commentary team is comprised of Nigel Pearson, Jim Proudfoot and John Gwynne.
Updates from darts events have been broadcast on radio before, with the 2014 PDC World Darts Championship final covered live on BBC Radio 5 live. This is the first time that full commentary will be available for the quarter and semi-finals.
“It’s great to welcome talkSPORT on board to cover the William Hill World Darts Championship through both talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
“talkSPORT have always been great supporters of darts and this deal will be a fantastic addition to their festive schedules and a boost for darts fans across the UK, who will be able to listen to full coverage of the latter stages of the biggest event in the sport.”
The PDC has also announced a new seven-year deal with Sky Sports. Although some PDC tournaments are broadcast on ITV4 free-to-air, the PDC world championship is available on Sky for the 25th year.
talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2 are available on DAB digital radio.