Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport.

We all want to work on projects we're passionate about, but sometimes compromises need to be made. This is particularly true in the current media environment. Is there a way to turn that passion into profits and, therefore, a sustainable media business? Peter Houston from Media Voices and Magazine Diaries/Grub Street Journal comes back on the podcast to discuss it all.

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Darts: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

On Sunday, the World Darts Championship begins again at Alexandra Palace in London. The 18-day-long competition is one of the best sporting events of the year. No, American readers, I haven’t gone mad. It’s true! Christmas officially starts the first time you hear that music.

It is hard to explain why to anyone outside of the UK that this has become such a big deal, but it is. And it’s almost entirely down to TV.

For decades, darts was, let’s be honest, a bit of a joke. A thing played by old blokes in grimy pubs. Then promotor Barry Hearn worked with Sky Sports to polish things and the cash poured in.

Now, the broadcaster dedicates an entire channel to the competition over the Christmas period. This year’s Sky Sports ad campaign, “Merry Football Dartsmas” shows how embedded it has become, given that football was always dominant at this time of year.

​Read the full article on why darts is so huge with a paid subscription. Current free subscribers get a 20% discount, making it just £4 per month/£40 per year.

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