Business of Sport Ep.16: Matthew Porter, CEO @ PDC, ‘Darts is flying high; we have to capitalise on this opportunity'

Today, we are delighted to welcome Matthew Porter. Matthew is the CEO of the Professional Darts Corporation, more commonly known as the PDC, overseeing the sport of darts and it’s iconic tournaments, including the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

Since his appointment in 2008, Matthew has played an integral role in building out the darts calendar, introducing events such as the European Championship and Players Championship Finals, the PDC World Cup of Darts and the European Tour, as well as the implementation of the PDC’s development structure with Qualifying School, the Challenge Tour, and Youth Tour.

Previously, Matthew was Chief Executive of Leyton Orient Football Club, becoming the youngest CEO in the football league at the age of 26 when appointed. He is also Chairman of Matchroom Multi Sport.

In today’s show we discuss:

World Darts Championship:

• How the flagship event over the Christmas period drives mass engagement for the sport.
• The incredible viewing figures for the 2024 Championship that culminated in over 4m for the final, making it the most viewed sporting event on Sky outside of football.
• The importance of capitalising on attention when you are lucky enough to have it in sport, and ensuring you don’t let the opportunity to drive bigger and better engagement pass by.
• What are the key numbers around the event? What do sponsors want from their partnerships? How do media rights deals incorporate the rest of the calendar?

Celebritisation of players:

• The rise of Luke Littler and how he became the face of the sport. What does it do for the wider darts community?
• This is something that has been happening long before Luke came along. How have the Smith’s and Van Gerwen’s of the world help develop the profile of the sport?
• Does darts have an image problem? Do the professionals now play a key part in encouraging young people to get involved in the sport and realise the opportunity a career in darts can present?
• How has social media been leveraged to engage a range of demographics all tuning into the darts for different reasons? You can’t alienate the core audience but must speak to new fans.
• How do the players work together to positively promote themselves and the sport?

The growth of the sport

• Darts is a global sport, but it is heavily centred around the UK and Europe. How important is it to take darts to new countries to ensure the sport keeps developing?
• In which countries do the biggest opportunities lie from a participation and viewing perspective and how do you take advantage of this?
• Bringing in new sponsors and making the sport more attractive to industry outside of the ones that normally commercialise in the space will be a key way in expanding the reach of the sport.
• Providing greater financial opportunity through tour funding and prize money will allow for more people to commit to darts and pursue a career to a professional level.

As we talked about at the start of the episode, we will also be highlighting some of the most inspiring people, stories, and organisations across sport once a month on the show. To support the incredible endeavours of Russ Cook (Hardest Geezer!) as he takes on the continent of Africa on foot, please find his social media and fundraising pages in the link below!

linktr.ee/hardestgeezer