ESPN Outbids NBC for Wimbledon Rights Package

12-year pact pushes marquee tennis tourney to cable

ESPN on Tuesday will announce it has wrapped a deal with the All England Club for the media rights to Wimbledon.

While ESPN currently is the cable home to the tournament, the full-package agreement strips NBC of the broadcast rights, ending the network’s 43-year relationship with Wimbledon.

NBC Sports confirmed that ESPN was willing to put more dollars on the table. “While we would have liked to have continued our relationship, we were simply outbid,” a spokesperson said.

NBC’s recent four-year, $52 million deal expired Sunday, July 3, after Novak Djokovic defeated defending champ Rafael Nadal in four sets.

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