After 43 years, NBC aired Wimbledon for the final time on Sunday.
ESPN is set to acquire full rights to Wimbledon starting next year, according to multiple reports. Though not yet official, the deal could be announced “as soon as this week” (sportsbusinessdaily.com, 7/3).
ESPN has now has full rights to two of the four major tennis tournaments (Australian Open and Wimbledon), and partial rights to the other two majors (French Open and U.S. Open).
Unlike NBC, which made the unpopular decision to air weekday matches on tape delay, ESPN will air all Wimbledon coverage live. Broadcast network ABC is expected to air some taped coverage on weekend afternoons.
There was no word on whether The Tennis Channel would continue televising Wimbledon matches. Currently, Tennis Channel sub-licenses coverage of the Australian Open and U.S. Open from ESPN, and in turn, ESPN sub-licenses coverage of the French Open from Tennis Channel.
NBC, which first acquired rights to Wimbledon in June 1969, released a statement Sunday confirming that it has lost rights to the event. “We are proud of our 43-year partnership with the All-England Club and while we would have liked to have continued our relationship, we were simply outbid” (nytimes.com, 7/3).
As recently as 2008, NBC Universal televised three of the four tennis majors — the French Open (NBC), Wimbledon (NBC), and the U.S. Open (USA).
Sports Business Journal first reported the ESPN deal.
(Information from Sports Business Journal via Fang’s Bites, New York Times)
