BBC lose full coverage of Wimbledon with new TV channel to also show tournament
The BBC have broadcast Wimbledon in the UK exclusively for the past 88 years, but that monopoly will come to an end this year with TNT Sports getting in on the action
The BBC no longer has exclusive rights to broadcast Wimbledon in the UK as TNT Sports will also air the singles finals for the first time.
For the past 88 years, the BBC has exclusively shown the prestigious Grand Slam. Wimbledon begins on June 30, with the men's singles final concluding the tournament on July 13.
Following his epic victory over Jannik Sinner in an unforgettable French Open on Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz is aiming for a third consecutive win at Wimbledon. Last year, a peak audience of 7.5 million tuned into BBC One to watch Alcaraz triumph over Novak Djokovic in the final, with the match also streamed live 1.78 million times on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online.
Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolin in the ladies' singles final last year. The match had a peak viewership of 4.1 million on BBC One and was also streamed live 1.34 million times on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online.
Despite this change, the BBC still holds the majority of the rights this year due to the tournament being classified as a Category A event by Ofcom. This means that live coverage must be provided on free-to-air channels.
However, this rule also permits paid networks to share live coverage, provided it continues to be broadcast on terrestrial television. This has enabled TNT Sports to take over Eurosport's deal to show the finals for the first time.
Eurosport bosses sealed a five-year agreement with the All England Club last year, only to be taken over by TNT. The subscription channel will exclusively air the finals, while the BBC retains the exclusive rights to broadcast all other matches.
The Beeb is set to deliver extensive Wimbledon coverage across its primary channels, with every game also available on iPlayer. Additional content will be available through radio, online platforms, and the BBC Sport app.
While the presenting team has yet to be announced, it has been rumoured that two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray could join as a commentator. His time as Djokovic's coach has ended, meaning Murray might step into a broadcasting position for the tournament.
Murray previously took to the commentary box in 2018 after a hip operation. Meanwhile, Djokovic aims to match Federer's record of eight Wimbledon wins.
In a fresh move for this year's event, the BBC plans to reduce the lag between the Freeview broadcast of BBC Two and the iPlayer stream.
A trial during Wimbledon will offer select iPlayer beta testers a low latency version of the BBC Two live feed. This is intended to minimise the delay.
The experiment was detailed in a BBC blog post, outlining the broadcaster's efforts to "assess how well low latency streaming approaches perform over today's internet into our viewers' homes."
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