AELTC nets broadcast renewals

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has secured a series of media rights renewals for Wimbledon ahead of the 2025 Championships.

The AELTC, which organises Wimbledon and manages its commercial rights, has completed broadcast agreements across several markets, including Spain, Japan, China, Israel, Greece, Poland, the Balkans, Ukraine, and Moldova.

The renewals have been negotiated with the support of IMG, the agency handling Wimbledon’s media rights sales.

In Spain, telecommunications company Telefónica has retained the broadcast rights through its pay-TV platform Movistar Plus+. Telefónica has held these rights for over 20 years, with Wimbledon viewership remaining strong, particularly with Spanish players such as two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz featuring prominently in the tournament.

In Japan, public-service broadcaster NHK and pay-television broadcaster Wowow have extended their agreements. NHK previously held the rights from 2019 to 2023, sublicensing co-exclusive rights to Wowow. Both broadcasters continued their coverage in 2024 and will do so under the renewed agreement.

In China, Wimbledon coverage will continue through state broadcaster CCTV and Shanghai Media Group’s sports channel. In addition, a digital rights agreement has been secured with Tencent, replacing Shinai Sports after the latter’s six-year contract.

In the Balkans, Sportklub has renewed its broadcast rights for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Serbia. Sportklub is in the process of being acquired by Telekom Srbija in several of these territories.

Further renewals have been confirmed with Sport 5 in Israel, Nova in Greece, Polsat in Poland, and Setanta Sports in Ukraine and Moldova.

Additionally, Sport 24, an in-flight and in-ship broadcaster owned by IMG, has extended its rights to broadcast Wimbledon matches for airline and cruise passengers.

In the UK, Wimbledon’s broadcast rights remain with the BBC, which has held exclusive free-to-air rights since 1937. The BBC’s current deal, signed in 2021, ensures coverage of The Championships until at least 2027.