Discovery Communications said its Eurosport network has secured a five-year deal for live simulcast coverage of the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s and Ladies Singles finals and daily 90-minute highlight shows for the duration of the storied tennis tourney.
The deal gives Eurosport rights in the U.K. for all four Grand Slam tennis events – The French Open, The Australian Open and the U.S. Open are the others. The Wimbledon agreement is in line with British agency Ofcom’s Listed Events regulations, which allows a secondary broadcaster to acquire certain rights alongside the primary broadcaster, which in the case of The Championships is the BBC.
“It is fantastic to offer fans the chance to watch one of the most iconic events in British sport on Eurosport for the first time,” said Discovery Networks UK and Ireland EVP and MD Susanna Dinnage in a statement.” Adding the Wimbledon rights means we now have live coverage of all four top tournaments and cements our position as the Home of Grand Slam Tennis in the U.K.”
Eurosport’s Rob Curling will host the nightly highlights program in the U.K. from the All England Club from 10 pm every day of the tournament.
In addition to the four Glam Slams, Eurosport broadcasts the Davis Cup, known as the ‘World Cup of Tennis’ and the five British grass court tournaments that take place in the lead up to The Championships, Wimbledon.
The BBC will continue to broadcast continuous daily live coverage of The Championships in the UK across BBC 1, BBC 2 and online, and remains the AELTC’s primary UK broadcast partner for the term 2016-2020 inclusive.
