Darts fans were left furious as Sky Sports crashed in the build-up and during night five of the Premier League. Reigning champion Luke Littler was among the star-studded line-up taking part in the event in Brighton.
Those looking to tune into the broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event were matched with a white screen that read: “We’re really sorry for the temporary fault.” The picture eventually returned ahead of the evening’s first match between Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen, but issues continued throughout the night.
The coverage of Littler’s match with Chris Dobey was regularly interrupted, with the broadcast often cutting to either black screens or advert breaks during key moments of the clash.
Fans weren’t happy about the technical issues, with plenty taking to social media to complain about the problem. Writing on X, @blakedcfc stated: “Sky Sports in absolute shambles as their channel crashes as soon as the Darts starts [two laughing emojis]. Absolute joke.”
An unhappy @beerhunter71 said: “Come on @SkySports this is a joke now, the amount of money you charge us, we expect to be able to watch the darts without consent disruption of the picture & sound constantly going out & and then the darts being replaced by adverts.”
@steamyy_ added: “Sky sports what a shambles, trying to watch the darts.”
@BinnyPiper joked: “Someone in Brighton plug sky sports back in at the premier league darts [laughing emoji.”
@MarcBhafc said: “Sky sports having an absolute mare with the darts tonight. Someone sort those cables out.”
Sky Sports presenter Emma Paton issued an on-air apology, stating: “Apologies if you have been losing picture on Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports +. We’ve been experiencing technical difficulties.” She later attempted to add another apology, which was inaudible as the feed cut off and switched to an advert mid-sentence.
The issue persisted, though, with commentator Wayne Mardle later apologising once again. He said: “We apologise if you’re experiencing any malfunction or picture breakup. It will be fixed momentarily, I assure you,” just before the broadcast cut off once again.”
Despite the problems, the on-board action continued. Van Gerwen was the victor during his match against Price, whereas Littler got the better of Dobey, despite a shaky performance at times.
It was something Sky Sports pundit Mark Webster referenced, stating: “Dobey will be bitterly disappointed. That version of Luke Littler doesn’t come along very often so you have to take your opportunity. World class players can win when they’re not at it.”
Night six will, hopefully without as many interruptions, come from Nottingham next Thursday.
