The Australian Open "has become the first victim of the latest swingeing cuts to the BBC’s sports rights budget," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. The first Grand Slam of the year "will no longer be covered live by the corporation after it failed to meet the asking price to continue broadcasting the tournament." The BBC has shown each of Andy Murray’s finals at the Australian Open, with his defeats to Novak Djokovic last year and in '13 "pulling in four million and five million viewers, respectively." However, three weeks after the corporation announced a £35M ($53M) cut to its sports rights budget as part of a bid to plug a £150M ($227.5M) licence-fee deficit, "it has surrendered the right to cover the climax of his latest attempt." The tournament next month will instead be "shown exclusively live by Eurosport, which has held the contract for several years and has sublet the semi-finals and finals to the BBC on a shared basis." The BBC did not respond to requests for comment on the loss of the Australian Open, while Eurosport "would only confirm it had the exclusive rights from next month." The BBC’s 38-year association with BDO World Darts Championship is "also under threat amid suggestions the tournament in January could be its last." Snooker, a sport which boasts an "even longer relationship with the BBC, could also be sacrificed" (TELEGRAPH, 12/9).
