Beeb lose control of SW19 cameras
WIMBLEDON will take over from the BBC next year as host broadcaster of their own tournament as part of the changing media landscape.
The All England Club are setting up Wimbledon Broadcasting Services (WBS), who will have control of all TV cameras for the first time. This will suit perfectly the private members club, who can now dictate what is shown on screen rather than having to argue occasionally with the Beeb about controversial moments.
The All England Club will be more in tune with worldwide interest in what they broadcast. The BBC will still work closely with them on domestic output, but without their previous power.
The Australian Open have already taken their TV production in-house and the All England Club have moved in that direction by beefing up their Wimbledon channel to provide global digital coverage via their app. The change will benefit the BBC in saving them production costs while preserving their rights. And Wimbledon have experienced former BBC tennis producer Paul Davies already on their staff to run WBS.
Meanwhile, Twitter are reportedly in talks with the US PGA for live streaming of the last golf major of the year after the organisers chose not to renew their UK rights contract with Sky. IT SEEMED odd that Open Championship contender Justin Rose should be a Royal Box guest at Wimbledon four days before the next major at Royal Birkdale when a lot of his rivals are already practising there. But Rose (right) likes to do his main preparation early and was at Birkdale last week. WIMBLEDON champion Roger Federer, who makes more money from endorsements than any athlete in the world, is a sponsor’s dream. He had his Rolex watch on within seconds of yesterday’s victory. Despite not breaking sweat to beat Marin Cilic, Federer managed to wipe his brow 10 times during his brief court-side post-match interview with Sue Barker to ensure the Rolex was in camera shot. THE equal prize-money at Wimbledon is unlikely to be reflected in viewing figures for the two singles finals. The average audience for Garbine Muguruza’s win over Venus Williams was a poor 2.5 million.
Mourinho’s LA love-in
THE fact that Manchester United and the Los Angeles Olympic Games bid team share the same PR advisers explains why Jose Mourinho lavished such over-the-top praise on the University of California Los Angeles sports facilities used by the club. It will also be the site of the Olympic Village when LA stage the Games in 2024 or 2028.
The IOC executive board will negotiate with LA and Paris over which year they will host. Paris are favourites for 2024 but there are fears President Donald Trump might have used the Games as a bargaining chip with French President Emmanuel Macron when they met last week. IT WAS rather seedy of Ascot, under chief executive Guy Henderson, to flaunt Playboy Club sponsorship of Saturday’s London Handicap Stakes by posting on their official Twitter account pictures of scantilyclad Playboy bunnies on the podium for the trophy presentation, especially when the racecourse demands high sartorial standards for the royal meeting. An Ascot spokesman said: ‘We have a varied programme over the year.’ The Queen has no involvement in minor race sponsorships. PARODY Twitter account @PseudoFed remains the most amusing of its kind since @RandyShunt lampooned ex-British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Hunt’s flag-waving at London 2012. The account author’s identity remains a mystery, but the word is Andy Murray knows, and he or she works within Scottish tennis.
A classic @PseudoFed posting this week: ‘Going to go to sleepy land now. Could a staff member come in quietly and close my eyelids.’