After two decades, the BBC will no longer provide extra Wimbledon Red Button feeds via satellite. Bonus coverage will be available via the iPlayer instead.
Traditionally, the BBC offered up to six temporary pop-up channels for the summer, offering extra coverage from the grass courts of SW19. Prior to the pandemic, these channels also offered coverage from Glastonbury.
The online shift means that satellite viewers using older receivers will find they can’t access the same range of extra Wimbledon feeds as before. On newer receivers, the extra coverage will be delivered via the internet.
This year, the BBC will carry a single, live ‘Wimbledon Extra’ channel on the Red Button, plus iPlayer, website and app. Every match will now be available to watch on iPlayer.
Standard live broadcast TV coverage will run on BBC One and BBC Two, with highlights from 9pm on BBC Two.
▶ How the changes will affect viewers
Sky+HD and older Freesat receivers
Previously: Access to up to six summer Red Button streams with extra Wimbledon coverage.
Now: A single live ‘Wimbledon Extra’ channel via the Red Button from 3rd July.
Extra coverage is on the iPlayer only. Older receivers do not have the full iPlayer app. You may need to use an alternative device to access this extra coverage.
Sky Q, newer Freesat receivers
Previously: Access to up to six summer Red Button streams with extra Wimbledon coverage from the main channel list, or the option to watch extra coverage via the iPlayer.
Now: One Red Button channel available from the channel list. Press red to access extra coverage – but this is delivered via the iPlayer and your internet connection. It’s not broadcast via satellite and you won’t be able to access the feeds from the channel list, nor record them.
On Sky for example, the extra Red Button feeds in previous years could be directly selected from a channel number at the bottom of the channel list. The existing BBC Red Button 1 channel (BBC RB1) was joined by BBC RB2-6 and RB 1 HD. Since February, BBC RB 1 HD is now available on a full-time basis on Sky and Freesat.
▶ Devices that support the Wimbledon live streams on iPlayer
During Wimbledon, viewers with a smart TV or compatible connected TV receiver will be able to press red for extra coverage from the iPlayer. You’ll need to be signed in to the iPlayer on your device.
Compatible receivers with the iPlayer red button integration include Sky Q, Sky Glass, all recent Freesat receivers and BT / YouView boxes. Virgin Media’s V6, 360 and Stream boxes are also compatible, ensuring every Virgin Media TV customer can benefit.
To a regular viewer with a good internet connection, the switch from satellite to internet reception of the extra feeds may go unnoticed.
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Additionally, Freeview Play TVs and boxes connected to the internet will also deliver the BBC’s extra Wimbledon and Glastonbury feeds. The BBC was rarely able to offer extra Red Button feeds on Freeview (beyond the existing RB1 channel on 601), due to a lack of broadcast capacity on the platform.
Axing the enhanced summer Red Button service will also save the BBC from having to hire extra satellite capacity each year. Effectively the move is the beginning of pushing all BBC services online. BBC Director-General Tim Davie previously indicated this was the broadcaster’s ultimate direction of travel.
▶ Background: Extra BBC Red Button streams
Since the early 2000s, Sky viewers were able to access a range of extra coverage on the Red Button. This ranged from the Chelsea Flower Show to News Multiscreen on the Red Button, plus comprehensive coverage from Wimbledon. The service became available on Freesat after its launch in 2008.
Following the London 2012 Olympics, the BBC cut back Red Button video streams, with just one permanent video stream remaining on all platforms. From 2013 it began offering an annual enhanced summer Red Button service on satellite and cable. This carried temporary pop-up channels. The BBC also utilised extra temporary Red Button channels for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics.
Meanwhile, the separate BBC Red Button text service continues its own decline. Newer TVs and boxes often no longer support the technology underpinning the aging platform. The BBC had saved the service from the axe prior to the pandemic. But as viewers upgrade their equipment, fewer households will have access to the service.
Marc Thornham