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Wimble
Done By George Stahl NEW YORK (AQB)--Like a couple getting closer to marriage, NBC and Turner Sports created another level to their relationship by adding Wimbledon to their collection of sports that already includes the NBA and NASCAR. The new three-year contract, valued by the USA Today at $30 million a year, features a record 124.5 hours of coverage, a 25 percent increase in total on-air coverage. The pact is nothing new for NBC, which has televised Wimbledon for 31 years. The peacock network this year will broadcast 35.5 hours of the lawn tennis championships, its oldest sports partnership. "We are delighted to be able to continue our long relationship with the world's most prestigious tennis championships," NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said. "For more than three decades, we have regarded Wimbledon as one of the crown jewels of the NBC Sports schedule." NBC, though, will broadcast this year's tournament without Dick Enberg, who is expected to confirm his move to CBS today. Turner Sports takes over as the daytime provider of the tournament, replacing HBO, which had done it for 25 years. Ironically, in this age of media conglomerates, the move to Turner Sports from HBO simply represents an in-house shift as Time Warner owns both properties. Turner Sports will televise 89 hours of this year's fortnight on TNT and CNN/Sports Illustrated. TNT will air 61 hours of primarily daytime coverage and will program 28 more hours on CNN/Sports Illustrated, all in prime time. Last year, HBO aired 57 hours. This is the first time that the tournament is on basic cable and the first time that CNN/Sports Illustrated, an all sports-news network, will air an event of any kind. TNT is in 75 million cable homes, while CNN/SI has 15.5 million homes. HBO is in 25 million homes. "We're happy to be able to give American tennis fans more coverage of this world-class event than ever before, in a deal that further solidifies TNT's place as a big event network," Turner Sports president Mark Lazarus said. "An event with the rich tradition of Wimbledon adds to the lineup of important sports already on TNT, TBS Superstation, and now CNN/Sports Illustrated." HBO decided last summer not to renew its $8 million a year contract. According to The Associated Press, Turner's contract is believed to be for about the same money that HBO paid. This is the third major rights deal NBC has signed in the past few months. The network, which lost the NFL rights two years ago, signed deals with horse racing's Triple Crown and NASCAR. Back
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