Wimbledon Championships
12
Terracotta Warriors
Prince of Wales is present, as was in practice during the 2010 Championships when the Queen was in attendance at Wimbledon on 24 June. Since 1992, Radio Wimbledon – an on-site radio station with a studio in the Centre Court building – has broadcast commentary, music and speech from 8am to 10pm daily throughout the championship. It also broadcast the draw on the Friday before the start of the tournament. Radio Wimbledon can be heard within a five-mile radius on 87.7 FM, and also online. It operates under a Restricted Service Licence and is arguably the most sophisticated RSL annually in the UK. The main presenters are Sam Lloyd and Ali Barton. Typically they work alternate four-hour shifts. Reporters and commentators include Gigi Salmon, Nick Lestor, Rupert
Radio Wimbledon
Bell, Nigel Bidmead, Guy Swindells, Lucie Ahl, Nadine Towell and Helen Whitaker. Often they report from the "Crow's Nest", an elevated building housing the Court 3 and 4 scoreboards which affords views of most of the outside courts. Regular guests include Sue Mappin. In recent years Radio Wimbledon acquired a second low-power FM frequency (within the grounds only) of 96.3 FM for uninterrupted Centre Court commentary, and, from 2006, a third for coverage from No. 1 Court on 97.8 FM. Hourly news bulletins and travel (using RDS) are also broadcast. For over 70 years, the BBC has broadcast the tournament on television in the UK, starting in 1937. The matches covered are split between its two main terrestrial channels, BBC One and BBC Two. The BBC holds the broadcast rights for Wimbledon until 2014 and it distributes its commercial-free feed to outlets worldwide. During the days of British Satellite Broadcasting, its sports channel carried extra coverage of Wimbledon for subscribers. One of the most notable British commentators was Dan Maskell, who was known as the BBC's "voice of tennis" until his retirement in 1991. Other regular commentators on UK television include British ex-players Greg Rusedski, Andrew Castle, Tim Henman and Annabel Croft; and guest veterans such as Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Tracy Austin. The coverage is presented by Sue Barker and highlights with John Inverdale. Previous BBC presenters include Des Lynam, David Vine and Harry Carpenter.
Television coverage