Eddie Hearn believes darts is on the verge of a definitive breakthrough in the United States. According to the Matchroom chairman, a future partnership with a major American broadcaster such as ESPN could take the sport to a completely new level. The ambitious plans follow shortly after investment firm Bruin Capital took a minority stake in Matchroom Sport, a deal that values Matchroom at more than one billion pounds and is intended to accelerate the international growth of darts among other sports.
Hearn sees enormous potential specifically in the American market. The 46-year-old promoter noted that Bruin Capital’s top executives were impressed after being invited to a Premier League Darts night in Manchester. “We’re good, we’re great promoters, we’re incredible salesmen, but there are levels upon levels,” Hearn told City AM. “This is going to help us unearth and crack those levels.”
For Hearn, everything revolves around successfully opening the American market. He believes a major TV deal in the United States would have huge consequences for the sport. “The real growth from Matchroom over the last few years has been that global expansion,” said Hearn. “If darts ends up doing a major deal with a US broadcaster, if it breaks through in the American market, which I really believe it can, it will change the sport forever.”
Hearn noticed during an event hosted by Bruin founder George Pyne in Florida how serious the interest has become. There he connected with ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, whereas earlier talks, according to Hearn, made barely any progress. “All of a sudden, George is going to Jimmy, ‘have you looked at darts? Jimmy, this stuff’s out of control. We’ve done the numbers, we’ve been to these events’.” There is no agreement with ESPN yet, Hearn emphasised, but interest is growing rapidly. “There’s nothing done with ESPN yet, but there could be, and that would transform everything in America.”
According to Hearn, the investors were particularly impressed by the commercial figures of the darts industry. After extensive research, Bruin Capital said it immediately saw the sport’s growth potential. “When they’ve seen the numbers [for darts] versus the numbers from boxing or pool or snooker, they’re looking at this business going, ‘this is a monster’,” said Hearn. He also revealed that both he and his father Barry Hearn rejected a full takeover of Matchroom, despite the company’s multibillion valuation. “We’ve made a huge amount of money, but luckily I’ve got the same mindset where it’s like, ‘we’ve made our money, now we’re going to the next level’. Which will probably be a complete sale, or a float – that’s the next level, I guess.”
