The BBC has "bowed to public pressure and changed the format of its highlights show Wimbledon 2Day after a week of mounting criticism," according to Esther Addley of the London GUARDIAN. From Monday, the nightly program, hosted by Clare Balding, will move to a studio above Centre Court, "while the unpopular studio audience will be axed." Viewers and critics have "savaged the format of the new show, which was introduced this year to replace its more traditional evening roundup, Today at Wimbledon." The corporation "hoped to freshen its coverage with a more informal style" of program. But the changes were "met with hostility from TV audiences, as 95% of those polled told an online survey for the Radio Times that they wanted to see a return to the traditional punditry format of previous years." Spirited criticism on social media compared the program to "something dreamed up on the satirical comedy W1A," while Radio Times TV critic Alison Graham said that it was a mess and "a dreadful mistake" with "a terrible, terrible title" (GUARDIAN, 7/6). In London, Victoria Ward reported in a bid to "win back support for the show, the BBC had already made a series of changes," increasing the time dedicated to tennis highlights and shifting the live audience around the set. Last week, "Wimbledon 2Day" was filmed at the Gatsby Club, an "aircraft hangar-sized private hospitality club on the other side of a makeshift car park outside the club's grounds." It was "unclear why the site was chosen" when the BBC "has its own studio at the All England Club site" (TELEGRAPH, 7/6). In London, Simon Rice reported Graham called it "a mess, a giddy mix of inane tweets, snippets of matches (let's not forget actual tennis is being played, something, presumably we all want to see, which is why we've tuned in) and a bit of chat. All marshalled by a panicky looking Clare Balding." Viewers complained that "highlights of the actual tennis were being overly sidelined." On Monday, there were "just 21 minutes of action shown." By Friday there were 31 minutes but the BBC has "opted to go even further" (INDEPENDENT, 7/6). The BBC reported in its review, the Guardian said, "The whole show is a mess." In a "scathing review" in the Daily Mail, the show was referred to as "super right-on" and "tooth-achingly trendy." On Friday's edition, former Wimbledon champion John McEnroe addressed the criticism, saying, "Clare, they're coming after us, the hell with these people" (BBC, 7/6).
