Eurosport "is on the verge of being the first commercial broadcaster to be allowed to broadcast" live U.K. coverage of Wimbledon this summer, according to Tara Conlan of the London GUARDIAN. The pay-TV channel has finalized details with the All England Lawn Tennis Club, "which holds the rights to the Wimbledon tournament, to air the tournament from 2016 to 2020." As part of the deal Eurosport "has had to hold talks with the BBC and broadcasting regulator Ofcom to gain consent." Under the deal Eurosport "will simultaneously broadcast live coverage of the final with the BBC but also air evening highlights timed not to clash with the corporation’s own nightly roundup." Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton said that "he could not yet announce a deal about Wimbledon" but said details of "how it would work with the BBC have been ironed out." He said, “It’s with the regulator, everything else is sorted,” and pointed to Ofcom’s website. Ofcom "put the proposal out to consultation" until June 15 which gives it little time to make its decision before Wimbledon begins on June 27 (GUARDIAN, 6/2). CAMPAIGN LIVE reported on its website, Ofcom confirmed that "it received a request from the BBC and Discovery" for consent to share coverage of the Wimbledon Championships for five years.
Under the proposals, the BBC "will broadcast live coverage and highlights on BBC One and BBC Two, with additional coverage on radio and interactive streams." Meanwhile, Discovery "would broadcast live coverage and highlights of the finals on Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2" (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 6/2).
