| TENNIS CHANNEL’S WIMBLEDON PRIMETIME COVERAGE BEGINS JULY 3 |
| Network will Dedicate More than 200 Hours to Tennis’ Oldest Major
Hall of Famers Martina Navratilova, Jim Courier and Lindsay Davenport Join Veteran Broadcasters Mary Carillo, Bill Macatee and Others in London |
| LOS ANGELES, June 27, 2017 -Tennis Channel will broadcast from the All England Lawn Tennis Club for its 10th year of Wimbledon Primetime beginning on the tournament’s first day, Monday, July 3. The network plans to dedicate more than 200 hours to Wimbledon coverage over the two-week event. Wimbledon Primetime will air each night of the competition followed by encore presentations that run throughout the late night. Tennis Channel will offer 100 hours of first-run Wimbledon Primetime, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on July 3.
Wimbledon Primetime looks at each day’s play, delivering important news, expert analysis and encore matches from the famed grounds in London. The nightly show gives viewers a chance to catch-up on the action that took place at the tournament while many Americans are at work. As with years past, Wimbledon Primetime will feature Tennis Channel’s deep roster of commentators and broadcasters. Hall of Famers Martina Navratilova (@Martina) and Jim Courier will serve as lead analysts. Fellow Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76) will also be in the booth. The two women share a combined 22 Wimbledon titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Joining the network’s Hall of Famers will be coach and former Wimbledon mixed-doubles semifinalist Justin Gimelstob (@justingimelstob), and legendary coach Paul Annacone (@paul_annacone). Annacone, who is known for coaching two of Wimbledon’s greatest champions in Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, will coach three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka during the tournament this year.
Host and reporter Mary Carillo will provide special features and analysis, and join panel discussions throughout the tournament. Sharing hosting duties with Carillo is Bill Macatee (@BMacatee), who is back for his 10th year at Wimbledon with Tennis Channel. New to the announcing team this year are veteran broadcaster Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) and Steve Weissman (@Steve_Weissman). They will be joined by Sports Illustrated executive editor and senior writer Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim), a year-round reporter for Tennis Channel. He will offer analysis and produce in-depth essays in his unique storytelling style throughout the tournament. In a repeat of his time with Tennis Channel at Roland Garros, Boris Kodjoe (@BorisKodjoe) will head to Wimbledon as a juniors analyst. Likewise, actor Omar Miller (@OmarMiller) will also provide “Advantage Omar” segments for the network, as he did during the French Open, while he explores London.
There are usually two editions of Wimbledon Primetime each night, with the episodes highlighting different matches. The network will broadcast encore presentations of both throughout the late evening. During the first week of the tournament, Wimbledon Primetime will generally run from 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. ET and 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET. For the second week, Wimbledon Primetime will have the two-episode format every day except Thursday, July 13, and will typically air during the late afternoon Eastern Time. The women’s and men’s championships will air Saturday, July 15, and Sunday, July 16, at 6 p.m. ET respectively. For a complete schedule of all Wimbledon coverage please visit: http://tennischannel.com/schedule.
Live on Friday, June 30, at 7 p.m. ET, the network will offer its annual look at the tournament draw with Racquet Bracket: Wimbledon. Steve Weissman, Leif Shiras (@lshirock), Jimmy Arias (@ariastennis) and Chanda Rubin (@Chanda_Rubin) will break down the bracket and look ahead to tough matchups and surprises that may be on the way. On Sunday, July 2, at 8 p.m. ET viewers can find the same team during Tennis Channel’s Wimbledon Preview. This program focuses less on the draw itself and looks forward to the various storylines and players ahead of the tournament. On Sunday, July 2, at 9:30 p.m. ET, Tennis Channel will premiere Holding Serve with Judy Murray. Murray, the mother of World No. 1 Andy Murray and the first British Wimbledon champion since Fred Perry in 1935, discusses her life coaching her sons and how the sport has grown in Scotland with Carillo. Additionally, Tennis Channel will air classic Wimbledon matches the week prior to the tournament, including the 2008 final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, which many consider to be the greatest match of all-time.
All Wimbledon Primetime segments and interviews will be available digitally for online viewers. Along with its Wimbledon Primetime segments, all of the network’s short-form productions will be accessible digitally as well on as TennisChannel.com and Tennis magazine’s Tennis.com, the latter a recent addition to the family of network parent Sinclair Broadcast Group. These short-form pieces include “Destination Tennis,” “TenniStory,” “Advantage Omar” and “Mary in London,” as well as Tennis Channel’s multiplatform series My Tennis Life, which follows professional players Nicole Gibbs and Sam Groth.
Tennis Channel and Tennis magazine’s websites will also share content from each outlets’ reporters during the tournament. |