By Anthony Chapman
THE BBC are reportedly facing a fight to retain their rights to Wimbledon with TWO rival broadcasters targeting mega-money deals.
The prestigious tournament at SW19 has been televised by the Beeb for the past 90 YEARS.
Bosses currently pay 拢60million a year to the All England Club to cover Wimbledon.
And it means the competition, regarded as a Category A 鈥渃rown jewel鈥 event, remains free-to-access for the entire UK.
The likes of Clare Balding, Tim Henman and John McEnroe currently lead the broadcaster’s coverage and are big hits with fans.
However, the BBC鈥檚 current deal expires in 2027.
The Broadcast Act of 1996 also states that while Wimbledon must be accessible via free terrestrial telly, it does not make for exclusive broadcasting.
And according to City AM, that has opened the door for two of the BBC鈥檚 main rivals to make a play to cover Wimbo in the future.
The first are TNT Sports, who are already set to broadcast this year鈥檚 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 singles finals alongside the BBC after taking over Eurosport.
TNT Sports are part of the Warner Bros Discovery group, who have already laid waste to the Beeb鈥檚 Olympics coverage over the past two Games.
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The broadcaster is now making a big push for tennis after agreeing a deal to extend coverage of the French Open until 2030.
But TNT Sports aren鈥檛 the only ones lining up Wimbledon, with Sky Sports also keeping an eye on a future broadcasting deal.
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They already have exclusive rights to the US Open, as well as the ATP and WTA tours.
And it means that should the BBC wish to continue being the main home of Wimbledon, chiefs face paying more than the current annual 拢60m when negotiations begin for a new deal covering the 2028-2030 seasons.
Speaking last month, BBC commentator Andrew Castle expressed his concerns over TNT Sports broadcasting the Wimbledon final 鈥 potentially leading to greater coverage in the future.
He said: “I don鈥檛 think they ever would [allow a rival broadcaster to take over].
“In terms of a domestic audience in the UK is concerned, I鈥檇 be very surprised if it wasn鈥檛 on the BBC and free to air.
“But I鈥檝e been surprised before. I just don鈥檛 see why or the particular benefit and that鈥檚 what matters to me.
“It鈥檚 an institution and an event, not a tennis tournament. As long as people see it because it is the big showcase.
“When I think of Wimbledon on the BBC, what is really lovely is there are no commercial breaks.
“And from my point of view in commentary, I鈥檝e got to think about what we are going to talk about in the breaks with Tim Henman, John McEnroe, Nick Kyrgios 鈥 that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 thinking about towards the end of a game.”