In the 1960s the
BBC had the rights to all the proper, prestige sporting events -
football,
tennis,
snooker and so on. ITV countered with 'World of Sport', which tended to focus on the more esoteric semi-sports which were on offer cheaply.
Thus, whilst the BBC had Wimbledon, ITV had darts, people jumping over trucks, wrestling with Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, cliff diving, Eddie Kid, novelty 'World's strongest man'-style competitions, the works.
It was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s, especially for the darts coverage. The sight of overweight, beer-drinking men throwing metal spikes at a circle became something of a national obsession at the time.
It was axed in 1985, presumably because ITV was embarrassed with the whole thing. It is sadly missed.