No Wimbledon tennis TV rights sale

Wimbledon’s bosses insist they have no plans for any of the famous championships’ matches to be screened on pay TV channels.

There have been reports that the BBC, which has had the rights for 80 years with the current deal running until 2017, has held talks with BT Sport about sharing the rights, with some of the early rounds being shown live only on the subscription channel.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) is adamant, however, that it will lead the negotiations of future rights. It is understood the AELTC regards the exposure Wimbledon receives on the BBC as a valuable part of their agreement.

The AELTC said in a statement: “The AELTC confirms categorically that there is no truth in media reports regarding BT and future Wimbledon TV rights.

“We have an exclusive TV rights agreement with the BBC up to The Championships 2017 and the timing and process of any future negotiations will be entirely led by the AELTC.”

It is understood Wimbledon rights were raised as part of general discussions of broadcast rights in a meeting of BBC and BT Sport executives – they already share coverage of the FA Cup, pre-Wimbledon grass-court tournaments at Queen’s and Eastbourne, and next month’s BDO World Professional Darts Championship.

However, no proposals were made and it would be entirely the AELTC’s call if it wanted to go down that route.

The finals weekend of Wimbledon is a category A listed event, which means it must be shown on free-to-air television. Earlier rounds, however, are category B events, meaning only highlights need to be shown on public TV.