ESPN Snatches Rights to Wimbledon from NBC

ESPN has secured full TV rights to Wimbledon, ending NBC's 43-year coverage of the Grand Slam tournament.
The network and the All England Club reached a 12-year agreement beginning next year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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ESPN had previously owned the rights to air the early rounds, with NBC picking up coverage in the second week, ending with its "Breakfast at Wimbledon" broadcasts of the finals. However, NBC has drawn ire from fans (including Dirk Nowitzki) for not airing all matches — particularly the women's and men's semifinals — live in all time zones. Under ESPN's deal, the network promised "comprehensive coverage from start to finish across a variety of platforms will result in more tennis for fans and all of it live."NBC's deal ended with Sunday's coverage of the men's final when new world No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated defending champ Rafael Nadal.

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NBC said in a statement Sunday that "while we would have liked to have continued our relationship, we were simply outbid." Fox had also bid for the rights.So far, NBC is 1-1 in retaining marquee events: Last month, it outbid ESPN and Fox to keep the Olympics through 2020.