“If it’s something new, it’s a case of ‘What’s bad about this? What can I post on social media?'” – Paul Nicholson bunks off criticism surrounding ITV change in darts coverage

Paul Nicholson has come out strongly in defence of the revamped ITV darts production team, insisting that critics on social media are judging an entirely new broadcast operation far too quickly — and that the reflexive urge to find fault with anything unfamiliar is telling its own story.

Writing in his Sporting Life column, the former world number six and current Matchroom commentator acknowledged that the transition, which saw Matchroom Media take over production from ITV entirely for 2026, has been imperfect. But he argued that given the scale of the overhaul, the reaction has been disproportionate — and that a pattern of online negativity around new things in darts is becoming its own problem.

“It seems like no matter what the viewers watch these days, if it’s something new, it’s a case of ‘What’s bad about this? What can I post on social media?’ Forget about the fact that all of that was done free to view for your benefit, but let’s just look at the negatives,” Nicholson wrote. Sporting Life

The criticism he was pushing back against has been substantial. When Matchroom decided to take over from ITV for this production and do things themselves, changes to staff, production and infrastructure followed, along with an almost complete refresh of the on-screen talent. Sporting Life The results drew widespread mockery in some quarters, particularly around the new circular scoreboard graphic which quickly became a focal point of fan frustration.

Nicholson was frank about the graphics, conceding that not everything has landed. “The only thing I take an exception with, which is a lot of us within the production have, is that we don’t believe the previous graphics needed to be replaced. Are they perfect? No. They’re not. And everybody knows it. But like everything else, if they’re not right by the middle of the year, when we go to other World Series events, like New York, then there’s a problem. But I’m positive that by the time we get there, things will be better.” Sporting Life

The new on-screen line-up — featuring presenter Pete Graves, Gabbie Partington, crowd reporter Alexa Rendall, and commentators including Mark Wilson and Ian Danter, alongside returning faces Wayne Mardle, Glen Durrant and Chris Mason — has had a notably mixed reception. Nicholson noted the overlap with Sky Sports personnel has led to accusations that the two productions now feel too similar, but argued that the presence of fresh voices more than compensates.

He was particularly vocal in support of Graves, the Sky Sports News football presenter who has admitted on air that his darts knowledge is still developing. “He’s a football guy, everybody knows that. He probably admitted a few times on air that his darts knowledge was lacking — which wasn’t necessary — but over the course of the year I think the fans will warm to him and the chemistry between himself, Wayne, and the team will improve. You don’t judge someone on the first broadcast, you give them time.” Sporting Life

He drew a parallel with the history of darts presenting, noting that every transition has sparked an initial backlash. “We’ve had Jeff Stelling and when Dave Clark took over people initially didn’t like the change. But then, obviously, everyone ended up loving Dave and were gutted when he decided to step back. Emma Paton then came in and that transition is probably the best transition we’ve ever had in our sport, because she is fantastic and we were very lucky to get her.” Sporting Life

On Alexa Rendall, the motorsport broadcaster handed the challenging role of crowd reporter, Nicholson was sympathetic rather than critical. “Alexa probably has the toughest job because she’s got 4,500 partygoers and nobody knows which ones have any idea about darts or which ones will be coherent. It’s very much a party atmosphere for three days so I believe that she had the most difficult job. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to do what she does.” Sporting Life

Lewis Jones, the new permanent Master of Ceremonies following John McDonald’s retirement after 19 years, has attracted the sharpest criticism of all. Nicholson revealed he has known Jones for 16 years — including his early days as Simon Whitlock’s driver and security — and defended him warmly. “He loves doing the job and has sought the right advice from voice coaches and other ways to try and project himself better. He’s not standing there and simply reading a cue card. He’s actively trying to better himself.” On McDonald’s legacy, he added: “John McDonald was nervous at the beginning and he didn’t know much about Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley and all these guys. But over time he grew into the role and that’s what we’ll see with Lewis, who is nurturing his own style week by week and clearly improving with every passing tournament.” Sporting Life

Nicholson also acknowledged that he was not spared the social media backlash himself. “I was commentating on board two during the UK Open and I obviously wasn’t immune from the criticism on social media either! Everybody was getting slated, so is this a production being on trial, or is this just the people putting something on trial for the sake of putting something on trial?” Sporting Life

It was a pointed question — and one that neatly captured the broader thrust of his column: that the instinct to condemn before giving anything a chance to breathe is doing nobody in darts any favours.