Darts World Magazine has already mentioned that new and independent media will play an increasingly important role in covering our game. The rise of Eddie Hearn has accelerated this process and we imagine there may be some changes to TV coverage in the coming months and years as contract negotiations take place.
It has often been asserted that Hearn Jnr does not have his father’s passion for darts and is much more enthused by his father’s love of boxing. However, regardless of how much truth there is to this statement, Eddie’s huge, modern profile has definite advantages due to his boxing promotions and his understanding of the independent media.
There has been much talk about President Trump’s understanding and use of podcast platforms during the recent US election. He has selected a group of podcasts with a huge reach, related to sports, business, comedy and conversation. Sure Joe Rogan made headlines and received over 50 million views, but his other podcast selections included the PBD podcast, an offshoot of US media project Valuetainment.
The host and commentary panel invite a wide range of guests and cover a wide range of topics, from politics and society to sports and entertainment. Who should show up just a week after Donald Trump took back the White House if not our own Matchroom boss.
The host, Patrick Bet David, is clearly a sports fan and they discuss various boxing stories before launching into a mildly political chat about the state of the UK etc.
However, just as Patrick is starting to take stock of everything, Eddie insists on teaching him a sport he hasn’t mentioned: darts. Over the next 5 minutes, Eddie gives our largest/richest new gaming markets a passionate, enthusiastic and well-focused presentation from both a sports and business perspective.
The PBD team enjoys showing clips of small and crazy crowds at PDC events and other positive images of the game. The surprise on the faces of our American cousins ​​when he gives them facts and figures about attendance, viewership and the atmosphere of the event. His assurance that it would be bigger than boxing was met with wide-eyed surprise.
Perhaps worth noting is the combination of the podcast’s 6.1 million subscriber base and Eddie’s gift for wit.
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