£80m Wimbledon deal

BBC EXTEND TV COVERAGE UNTIL AT LEAST 2024—

Tennis fans will be able to enjoy Wimbledon on their licence fee until at least 2024 after the BBC signed a four-year extension to their deal to cover the championships.

Both sides were coy about the financial particulars, but the cost of securing free-to-air radio and television rights for another four years could be about £80million.

Wimbledon has a host of global partners — among them America’s ESPN, who (pre-Brexit) signed a 12-year deal believed to be worth £300m.

The longest-running broadcasting agreement in world sport started when BBC radio first covered the event back in 1927 and TV started ten years later.

even in a rapidly changing media marketplace, the All england Club recognise the value of being on free-to-air TV.

While other sports have seen audiences wither into niche territory after signing lucrative satellite deals, Wimbledon can still command football-sized viewing figures.

Andy Murray’s first title in 2013 pulled in more than 17 million armchair fans.

Philip Brook, the All england Club’s chairman, cited the high viewing figures generated by free-to-air television, with a peak audience of 13.3million people watching Murray’s final victory over Milos Raonic this summer.

Brook said: ‘We are delighted to be further extending our long partnership with the BBC up to 2024.

‘We greatly value the BBC’s commitment to delivering large national audiences for the championships across a multitude of high-quality platforms, and look forward to celebrating 90 years of our partnership with them in 2017.’