All England Club and BBC extend contract to broadcast Wimbledon until 2024

LONDON – 17 November 2016 – The All England Club and the BBC today announced a four-year extension to their broadcast partnership, giving the BBC the domestic rights to broadcast The Championships, Wimbledon up to 2024.

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.

All England Club Chief Executive Richard Lewis announces BBC contract extension
In 2016, the BBC registered a peak audience of 13.3m for Andy Murray’s second Wimbledon title on BBC One, while Murray’s first title in 2013 was watched by a peak audience of 17.3m people across the UK.

The longest partnership in sports broadcasting history, which will celebrate 80 years of television and 90 years of radio at The Championships 2017, will see the BBC continue to evolve the scope of its Wimbledon coverage across all BBC platforms, enabling UK audiences to follow an unrivalled amount of action on their medium of choice.

The BBC will also continue to bring the best talent to the coverage of The Championships, both in the UK and around the world. As part of the new agreement, The AELTC and BBC will collaborate on responsibility for the production of the host broadcast from 2018, with the AELTC emphasising its commitment to providing a best-in-class service to its global media partners as part of Wimbledon Broadcast Services while the BBC continue to deliver a high quality domestic service.

Philip Brook, Chairman of the All England Club, 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.”

Tony Hall, Director General of the BBC said: “By extending the rights to broadcast Wimbledon until 2024 we can continue our long standing 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. Through unparalleled coverage across TV, radio and online, Wimbledon on the BBC will continue to unite the nation through must see sporting moments, captivating audiences of all ages.”

SOURCE: Wimbledon