The broadcast giant would wrest away Wimbledon rights from NBC, which has televised the event for 43 years.
ESPN Will Acquire Wimbledon Television Rights, NBC Confirms
Shortly after news broke that ESPN was close to acquiring the Wimbledon television right, NBC confirmed that the network will no longer carry the event. According to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal, NBC issued the following statement:
Ourand also reports several details leading up to this decision. NBC’s last proposal included coverage on multiple platforms and would have had the network show all the matches live starting in 2014. One other competitor for the Wimbledon television rights was Fox, but ESPN’s bid won out after it reportedly offered around $400 million for at least the next decade.
Read Article >ESPN ‘Close’ To Deal For Wimbledon Rights After NBC Contract Expires
2011’s Wimbledon was the 43rd consecutive iteration of the tournament to be broadcast by NBC. But ESPN is poised to acquire the rights to Wimbledon, making 2011 the last year of NBC’s Wimbledon hegemony, according to the SportsBusiness Journal.
SBJ’s John Ourand writes that sources inform him a deal linking ESPN and the third Grand Slam of the year is all but done:
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