New York – May 14, 2018 – BBC AMERICA’s new darts series Premier League Darts is proving to be a hit online. The series has generated over 2 million livestream views to-date since its launch on February 1, growing +10x from the first half of the tournament. Livestream views consist of views on BBCAmerica.com and Facebook.
Through 12 weeks, Premier League Darts social engagement has seen an average growth rate of +30% week-over-week, tracking ahead of the 2017 average growth rates of the NFL (+11%), NHL (+16%), and NBA (+21%).
BBCA is the U.S. home to the world’s biggest darts tournaments: Premier League Darts and the World Darts Championship. 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.
“Darts as a spectator sport is all about extraordinary skill, high stakes and passionate spectacle,” remarked BBC AMERICA President and GM Sarah Barnett. “It’s fantastic to see a US audience begin to embrace this global phenomenon.”
BBCA’s Premier League Coverage:
- Thursday Night Darts: Premier League 2018 – Thursdays at 10pm/9c
- BBCAmerica.com livestream – Thursdays at 2pm/1c
Source: Premier League Darts, 2/1/18-4/19/18, BBCA.com & Facebook livestream views. Tournament growth = Weeks 1-6 vs Weeks 7-12. Competitive growth = ListenFirst Media, average weekly growth rate.
BBC AMERICA is a hub of innovative, culturally contagious programming including the critically acclaimed series Killing Evefrom Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the Emmy® and IDA-winning Planet Earth II, the acclaimed Planet Earth: Blue Planet II, and the forthcoming next chapter in the epic story of our planet, Dynasty (w/t), the top-rated science-fiction phenomenon Doctor Who, the ground-breaking unscripted series Top Gear, the buzzy and hilarious The Graham Norton Show, as well as Premier League Darts. A joint venture between BBC Studios (the commercial arm of the BBC) and AMC Networks, BBCA’s influential shows such as Orphan Black and Luther, among many others, have attracted critical acclaim and earned Emmy® Awards, Peabody Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards and Golden Globes®. Created in 1998, the irrepressible network has garnered one of cable’s most curious, educated and affluent audiences, with many properties boasting super-fan levels of engagement. Get caught up, BBCA offers full episodes On Demand across all major digital platforms, BBC AMERICA app and bbcamerica.com. Find out more by visiting press.bbcamerica.com and follow @BBCAmerica.