BBC facing fight to retain £60m Wimbledon broadcast rights
The BBC faces the prospect of having to significantly increase its rights fee to the All England Club to extend their exclusive coverage of Wimbledon beyond 2027 amid increased competition for tennis amongst broadcasters.
While Wimbledon’s status as a Category A “crown jewel” event means live coverage has to remain available on free-to-air channels, the 1996 Broadcast Act only stipulates that it must be accessible on terrestrial channels rather than shown exclusively.
TNT Sports has secured a deal to share live coverage with the BBC for both the men’s and women’s singles finals this year, and could return with a more comprehensive bid when the tender for the UK rights for the Championships for 2028-2030 takes place later this year.
TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros Discovery, has decimated the BBC’s coverage of the Olympics over the last two summer Games by agreeing an extensive global deal with the International Olympic Committee that limits the corporation to live coverage on just two channels.
Sky Sports is also increasingly focused on adding to its tennis portfolio, having secured five-year deals for exclusive rights to both the ATP and WTA tours as well as the US Open 18 months ago.
The value of tennis rights is rising globally amid growing interest from streaming companies due to the vast number of matches on offer.
TNT Sports last month agreed a significant increase to extend its French Open deal in Europe for another five years, as did Sky Italia to extend its domestic contract with Wimbledon.
While the BBC’s 90-year history of televising Wimbledon, huge reach and willingness to make the Championships the centrepiece of its early-summer scheduling makes the corporation its natural home, bosses are likely to have to pay more than the current £60m-a-year deal to secure an extension.
In another potential complication, the BBC’s Royal Charter, which determines its remit and constitution, is also due for renewal in 2027 when the current Wimbledon contract expires.
Finals switch is headache for All England Club
Wimbledon’s TV rights portfolio may be in good shape, but stills photography is causing some issues for officials in SW19 at this year’s Championships.
The iconic images of the men’s and women’s singles champions receiving the trophy have considerable commercial and marketing value to the All England Club but there are concerns that the later 4pm start time for this year’s finals could see Centre Court bathed in shadow during the trophy presentation, which would affect the photographs.
Of particular concern is the women’s singles final as the projected finish time of 5:30pm-6pm often sees shadow across half the court.
The All England Club is renowned for its attention to detail, and considerable thought has been given to moving the location of the trophy presentation if needed. The men’s final should present less of a problem, as it is likely to be dusk by the time the match has concluded.
One of the most iconic photographs in Wimbledon history was captured in near darkness, with Rafael Nadal illuminated by flashbulbs as he lifted the trophy at 9:15pm following his rain-delayed five-set victory over Roger Federer in 2008.
Rugby rebels want ‘democracy back’ at RFU
The Whole Game Union led by Championship and grassroots clubs will consider tabling another motion of no confidence in the Rugby Football Union after its proposed governance reforms were all defeated at the RFU’s AGM last Saturday.
Eleven different proposals to give clubs a greater say over the decision-making process were rejected at the AGM as they failed to reach the 66 per cent threshold, although several attracted significant support of between 30 and 40 per cent.
A motion of no confidence in RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney following last year’s bonuses controversy was seen off at a Special General Meeting in March, but with feelings still running high the rebels are reserving the right to table another vote.
“We have the opportunity to call for another SGM, but will regroup first,” Nottingham chairman Alistair Bow told City PM. “We need to get democracy back and give the members more control over important decisions.”
Man Utd surprise at architects’ Milan deal
Foster and Partners’ impending appointment by AC Milan and Inter Milan to design the redevelopment of the San Siro has raised eyebrows at Manchester United, who have also engaged the architecture firm for their proposed new 100,000-seater stadium on the site of Old Trafford.
Foster and Partners does not have offices in Milan or Manchester, leading to concerns that its London-based stadium design team could be stretched by taking on two huge football projects at the same time.
Sir Norman Foster’s relationship with Sir Jim Ratcliffe appears to have been crucial to his company winning the United job, which remains at an embryonic stage, consisting so far of some conceptual videos and images rather than detailed plans.
The Milan stadium project is a long-running saga, with Populous producing plans for a 60,000-capacity stadium inspired by the city’s Duomo called “Cathedral” in 2019, which was abandoned after the clubs failed to get the backing of the local authority.
Milan and Inter subsequently announced plans to pursue separate stadium builds before coming back together last year in a joint redevelopment project on the site of the San Siro.