Luke Littler’s attempt to become a darts great will be broadcast exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK, with the Professional Darts Corporation agreeing a new five-year contract worth at least £125 million with the existing rights holder.

The new deal will start with Littler’s defence of his world title next December at Alexandra Palace, with Sky agreeing to pay more than double its existing rights fee in recognition of the Littler effect and the resultant growth in darts viewing figures.

The PDC’s decision to extend with Sky will be a considerable relief to the broadcaster, after then PDC chairman Barry Hearn had warned it earlier this year that it had to “raise the ante” in order to get a new deal. As reported by Telegraph Sport last month, Sky faced competition from streaming services Netflix and Amazon, who both made offers during the bidding process.

In addition to more than doubling its TV income, the PDC is understood to have been swayed by Sky’s history in darts, and what it regards as its outstanding coverage and established audience, which the two parties have grown together.

Sky’s ability to promote darts to football fans is believed to have played a significant role in growing the sport, with Jack Grealish given a prominent role in adverts for the recent World Championship.

The broadcaster has held exclusive rights since the inaugural PDC World Championship launched as a breakaway from the established BDO World Championship in 1993.

In terms of peak audiences, darts is now Sky’s biggest sport other than football, as the viewing figures from the last World Championship show.

Littler’s demolition of Michael van Gerwen in the final attracted a peak audience of 3.1 million, with an average throughout the match of 2.7 million. Although down on last year’s peak of 3.71 million when the then 16-year-old Littler was beaten by Luke Humphries, the final was still Sky’s biggest non-football audience of the last 12 months by some margin, beating the British Grand Prix at Silverstone which attracted an average of 2.2 million viewers.

The new deal will give Sky at least 64 days of live darts every year, including Premier League Darts, the World Matchplay and World Cup of Darts, in addition to the World Championship.

The contract is understood to be worth a minimum of £125 million and could increase if the World Championship continues to expand. The field at the next tournament will increase by 32 players to 128 competitors, giving Sky an extra four days of coverage.

The PDC is likely to use the extra TV money to increase its prize fund after Littler won £500,000 for his triumph at Alexandra Palace last week.

After signing this deal the PDC will move on to sell a package of free-to-air rights for other tournaments including the UK Open and Players Championship Finals, which are expected to be bought by ITV.

Sky Sports declined to comment.