Wimbledon to remain on the beeb until at least 2024
The BBC and the All England Club have signed a four-year extension to their broadcast partnership, giving the BBC the domestic rights to broadcast The Championships, Wimbledon up to 2024.
“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 80 years of Wimbledon on BBC Television with them in 2017.” – Philip Brook, Chairman of the All England Club
The new agreement guarantees that Wimbledon will remain free-to-air for UK fans for a further four years from the conclusion of the current contract in 2020, with The Championships broadcast across BBC One, BBC Two, BBC online channels and on BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 live sports extra. In 2016, a peak audience of 13.3m saw Andy Murray win his second Wimbledon title on BBC One.
The longest partnership in sports broadcasting history, which celebrates 80 years of television and 90 years of radio in 2017, will see the BBC continue to evolve the scope of its Wimbledon coverage across all BBC platforms, enabling UK audiences to follow an unprecedented amount of action on their medium of choice.
As part of the new agreement, the BBC and the AELTC will collaborate on the production of the host broadcast from 2018, with the BBC concentrating on the domestic output, while the AELTC will take responsibility for providing a best-in-class service to its global media partners and continuing the great work done here by the BBC.
“By extending the rights to broadcast Wimbledon until 2024 we can continue our longstanding and valued partnership with the All England Club. Wimbledon is the pinnacle of the sport, and as such has a special place in the hearts of the nation. Our extended agreement ensures The Championships can continue to be enjoyed free to air by the widest possible audience. Wimbledon on the BBC will continue to unite the nation through must-see sporting moments, captivating audiences of all ages.” – Tony Hall, Director General of the BBC
