Bosses at the All England Club concerned over “stale” BBC coverage as broadcaster bids for new TV rights deal.
The BBC has previously faced a backlash from viewers and media outlets when it tried to revamp coverage. The broadcast rights owner has now ordered the broadcaster to rethink its approach to covering tennis.
AELTC want new faces presenting coverage
BBC coverage lacks innovation
BBC still favourite to retain coverage if it can commit to changes
The BBC has been urged to refresh its coverage of Wimbledon tennis in return for retaining the main free-to-air rights to the annual tennis tournament in the UK.
The current broadcast deal expires in 2027, but bosses at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) are concerned the BBC’s coverage has become “staid” and “formulaic”.
Sky Sports Tennis and TNT Sports have in recent years innovated with more immersive coverage of events including the Australian, French and US Opens. In this context, the BBC’s coverage is viewed as falling behind the times.
The BBC’s coverage has not changed much in the past three decades. It is traditionally fronted by a mature, older female presenter, supported by a rarely changing team of commentators and pundits. They include John McEnroe and Andrew Castle.
However, some viewers may not welcome a change. The BBC faced a barrage of complaints in 2015 when it dared to make changes to its daily Wimbledon highlights show. Long-time presenter Sue Barker left the BBC in 2022. Since then, the BBC has attempted to inject some new blood into its coverage, but never daring to tinker with the format.
According to The Times, which first reported the story, the AELTC is keen on seeing new presenters and new ideas.
BBC favoured to keep rights if it can revamp coverage
The initial report in The Times triggered a range of hysteric coverage from media outlets opposed to the BBC, including the Daily Mail and GB News. Nevertheless, the broadcaster is still seen as favourite to retain coverage. Sources told The Times that AELTC will prioritise the BBC’s reach over more money. However, the BBC will need to outline how it intends to meet the AELTC’s concerns before a new agreement is signed.
At present, the BBC pays £60 million a year for the coverage.
The AELTC receives substantial income from foreign broadcast rights. It has also licenced non-exclusive UK highlights rights to Warner Bros Discovery, shown on TNT Sports and Discovery+.
The Wimbledon finals must be shown on free-to-air TV in the UK. There are no restrictions stopping the rest of the Wimbledon fortnight from going behind a paywall.
BBC innovation gone stale…
At the turn of the century, the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon was revamped with the arrival of first generation digital TV services and the red button.
On digital satellite and cable services, the BBC was able to offer up to six different courts, allowing viewers to choose what they wanted to watch. Due to capacity constraints, Freeview could only offer a choice of two courts via the red button, later dropping to just one extra option. BBC red button services were cut back in late 2012. From 2013-2019, the BBC ran temporary pop-up streams during June and July to ensure satellite and cable viewers could still access enhanced coverage of Wimbledon alongside other major summer events.
In the early 2020s, the BBC migrated extra coverage options to the BBC iPlayer, with the red button on connected devices now linking to live streams delivered via the internet.
Although the distribution method changed, the coverage itself hadn’t.
Multi-court coverage is now taken for granted. The rise of streaming, which allows broadcasters to be free of the constraints of regular broadcast platforms, has enabled all major tennis rights holders to offer similar options across all Grand Slam tournaments.
Sky Sports Tennis and TNT Sports have introduced more immersive coverage on their streaming platforms. For example, Discovery+ offers a popular timeline markers feature, which enables fans to easily navigate back to key moments such as key points, expert analysis and interviews so they never miss a moment of the action. Sky Sports Tennis has employed Laura Robson and Tim Henman to provide courtside analysis during live games.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: BBC