BBC AMERICA EXPANDS ITS RECORD-BREAKING PROFESSIONAL DARTS COVERAGE WITH 111 HOURS OF THE WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP STARTING DECEMBER 13

World's biggest darts tournament expands with 96 competitors and a record prize fund of more than $3.1 million

U.S. top darts player Chuck Puleo will travel to London for his first Championship appearance

New York - December 5, 2018 - BBC AMERICA today announced the expansion of its highly successful broadcast and streaming of Professional Darts, adding the 2018/2019 World Darts Championship from London's sold-out Alexandra Palace from December 13 to January 1. The best matches of the week will air Sunday mornings from 9:00am-12:00pm ET. BBCA will stream a record 111 hours live on BBC America.com. The Final will air in primetime on BBC AMERICA on Tuesday, January 1 at 9:30pm ET following the Doctor Who New Year's Day special.

This year's World Championship includes U.S. Champion Chuck Puleo, North American Champion and Canadian Jeff Smith and Canadian Jim Long, in the largest field the event has ever seen, with 96 competitors battling for over $3.1 million in prize money and the prestigious Sid Waddell Trophy.

The biggest names in the sport have been generating buzz in the weeks leading up to the championship - reigning World Champion Rob Cross "Voltage," world number one Michael van Gerwen "Mighty Mike," Gary Anderson "The Flying Scotsman," recent Grand Slam champion Gerwyn Price "The Iceman," Peter Wright "Snakebite," Russia's Anastasia Dobromyslova, England's Lisa Ashton and more will take the center stage.

Puleo, who topped the domestic rankings this year to earn his World Championship debut, plays World Youth Champion Dimitri Van den Bergh in the competition's first round on Tuesday, December 18.

"Darts brings together everything we love about sports - drama, suspense, excitement and wildly passionate fans. BBCA's comprehensive coverage will super-serve sports fans and also engage more casual viewers who want to experience this fan-fueled phenomenon first-hand," said executive director of BBC AMERICA, Courtney Thomasma. "We were thrilled at the level of enthusiasm for the debut of Premier League Darts last spring, and are looking forward to being the U.S. home of the World Darts Championship this month. Game on!"

BBC AMERICA launched its darts initiative with the 2017/2018 World Darts Championship, the most watched darts tournament on US TV in a decade, beating professional darts coverage on sports networks including NBC Sports Network, FS1, FS2, ESPN Classic, and ESPNU. That elite competition reached nearly 4 million unique viewers on BBC America, with the final trending globally on Twitter and setting the stage for the expansion into Premier League Darts which drew over 10 million unique viewers on the channel. Premier League Darts also generated nearly 3 million livestream views, growing +9x from the first half to the second half of the tournament. Livestream views consist of views on BBCAmerica.com and Facebook.

A fan-fueled fringe sport phenomenon, darts is second only to football (aka soccer) as a televised sport in the UK. It has the spectacle of wrestling, the stakes of poker and it has fans beyond anything you've seen in their enthusiasm. It's rowdy, it's skillful and now Americans are witnessing the best in the game with BBC AMERICA's World Darts Championship.

Source: Nielsen, Live+SD, P2+. Most Watched Darts Tournament=2007-TD, AA(000). Reach=12/16/17-1/1/18 (WDC), 2/1/18-5/17/18 (PLD), 1 minute qualifier.

Schedule of Play in London

Thursday, December 13 - Day 1

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Jeffrey de Zwaan v Nitin Kumar - First Round

Martin Schindler v Cody Harris - First Round

Jan Dekker v Lisa Ashton - First Round

Rob Cross v De Zwaan/Kumar - Second Round

Friday, December 14 - Day 2

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Michael Barnard v Jose De Sousa - First Round

Alan Tabern v Raymond Smith - First Round

Paul Nicholson v Kevin Burness - First Round

Jamie Lewis v Schindler/Harris - Second Round

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Danny Noppert v Royden Lam - First Round

Simon Stevenson v Ted Evetts - First Round

Chris Dobey v Boris Koltsov - First Round

Gary Anderson v Nicholson/Burness - Second Round

Saturday, December 15 - Day 3

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Richard North v Robert Marijanovic - First Round

Mickey Mansell v Jim Long - First Round

Josh Payne v Jeff Smith - First Round

Max Hopp v Noppert/Lam - Second Round

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Toni Alcinas v Craig Ross - First Round

Ryan Searle v Stephen Burton - First Round

Keegan Brown v Karel Sedlacek - First Round

Michael van Gerwen v Tabern/Raymond Smith - Second Round

Sunday, December 16 - Day 4

9:00am-12:00pm ET

Best Matches Days 1-3

(BBC AMERICA Broadcast)

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Gabriel Clemens v Aden Kirk - First Round

William O'Connor v Yordi Meeuwisse - First Round

Brendan Dolan v Yuanjun Liu - First Round

Dave Chisnall v Payne/Jeff Smith - Second Round

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Luke Humphries v Adam Hunt - First Round

Matthew Edgar v Darius Labanauskas - First Round

Ross Smith v Paul Lim - First Round

Peter Wright v Alcinas/Ross - Second Round

Monday, December 17 - Day 5

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Vincent van der Voort v Lourence Ilagan - First Round

Wayne Jones v Devon Petersen - First Round

Ryan Joyce v Anastasia Dobromyslova - First Round

Raymond van Barneveld v Edgar/Labanauskas - Second Round

Tuesday, December 18 - Day 6

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Robert Thornton v Daniel Larsson - First Round

Ricky Evans v Rowby-John Rodriguez - First Round

Krzysztof Ratajski v Seigo Asada - First Round

Darren Webster v Van der Voort/Ilagan - Second Roun

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Steve Lennon v James Bailey - First Round

Ron Meulenkamp v Diogo Portela - First Round

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chuck Puleo - First Round

Daryl Gurney v Ross Smith/Lim - Second Round

Wednesday December 19 - Day 7

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Nathan Aspinall v Geert Nentjes - First Round

Jeffrey de Graaf v Noel Malicdem - First Round

Joe Cullen v Dolan/Lui - Second Round

Kim Huybrechts v Thornton/Larsson - Second Round

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

James Wilson v O'Connor/Meeuwisse - Second Round

Simon Whitlock v Joyce/Dobromyslova - Second Round

Michael Smith v Meulenkamp/Portela - Second Round

James Wade v Ratajski/Asada - Second Round

Thursday December 20 - Day 8

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Jermaine Wattimena v Barnard/De Sousa - Second Round

Alan Norris v Lennon/Bailey - Second Round

Stephen Bunting v Humphries/Hunt - Second Round

Steve Beaton v Dobey/Koltsov - Second Round

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Cristo Reyes v Evans/Rodriguez - Second Round

Mervyn King v Dekker/Ashton - Second Round

Adrian Lewis v Stevenson/Evetts - Second Round

Mensur Suljovic v Searle/Burton - Second Round

Friday December 21 - Day 9

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Benito van de Pas v Mansell/Long - Second Round

John Henderson v Clemens/Kirk - Second Round

Steve West v North/Marijanovic - Second Round

Kyle Anderson v De Graaf/Malicdem - Second Round

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Ian White v Jones/Petersen - Second Round

Jelle Klaasen v Brown/Sedlacek - Second Round

Gerwyn Price v Aspinall/Nentjes - Second Round

Jonny Clayton v Van den Bergh/Puleo - Second Round

Saturday, December 22 - Day 10

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Whitlock/Joyce/Dobromyslova v Norris/Lennon Bailey - Third Round

Chisnall/Payne/Jeff Smith v Huybrechts/Thornton/Larsson - Third Round

Gurney/Ross Smith/Lim v Jamie Lewis/Schindler/Harris - Third Round

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Suljovic/Searle/Burton v Wilson/O'Connor/Meeuwisse - Third Round

Gary Anderson/Nicholson/Burness v Wattimena/Barnard/De Sousa - Third Round

Van Gerwen/Tabern/Raymond Smith v Hopp/Noppert/Lam - Third Round

Sunday, December 23 - Day 11

9:00am-12:00pm ET

Best Matches Days 4-10

(BBC AMERICA Broadcast)

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Webster/Van der Voort/Ilagan v Beaton/Dobey/Koltsov - Third Round

Cullen/Dolan/Liu v King/Dekker/Ashton - Third Round

Wade/Ratajski/Asada v Klaasen/Brown/Sedlacek - Third Round

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Adrian Lewis/Stevenson/Evetts v Van Barneveld/Edgar/Labanauskas - Third Round

Price/Aspinall/Nentjes v Kyle Anderson/De Graaf/Malicdem - Third Round

Cross/De Zwaan/Kumar v Reyes/Evans/Rodriguez - Third Round

Thursday, December 27 - Day 12

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

White/Jones/Petersen v West/North/Marijanovic - Third Round

Clayton/Van den Bergh/Puleo v Bunting/Humphries/Hunt - Third Round

Michael Smith/Meulenkamp/Portela v Henderson/Clemens/Kirk - Third Round

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Wright/Alcinas/Ross v Van de Pas/Mansell/Long - Third Round

Fourth Round Match #1

Fourth Round Match #2

Friday, December 28 - Day 13

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Fourth Round Match #3

Fourth Round Match #4

Fourth Round Match #5

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Fourth Round Match #6

Fourth Round Match #7

Fourth Round Match #8

Saturday, December 29 - Day 14

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)

Quarter-Final #1

Quarter-Final #2

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Quarter-Final #3

Quarter-Final #4

Sunday, December 30 - Day 15

9:00am-12:00pm ET

Best Matches Days 11-14

(BBC AMERICA Broadcast)

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Semi-Final #1

Semi-Final #2

Tuesday, January 1 - Day 16

9:30pm ET - Final

Following the Doctor Who New Year's Day special

(BBC AMERICA Broadcast)

3:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Final

NOTE TO EDITORS:

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Digital Live streaming: http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/darts Videos Trailer: https://bbc.in/2Pj4gZ6

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