NBC, Turner Sports Will Split Wimbledon Coverage for 3 Years

NBC and Turner Sports have reached agreement on a new three-year deal for U.S. television rights for Wimbledon.

HBO, as expected, has dropped the event after a 25-year run.

HBO chief Seth Abraham said earlier that he wanted to explore another programming opportunities.

HBO, which paid $50,000 for Wimbledon rights in 1975, paid $8 million last year.

Under the new deal, TNT will offer weekday coverage, generally from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and CNN-SI will offer event coverage from 6-8 weekday nights. TNT reaches 75 million homes; HBO, a pay service, reaches 18 million.

NBC, which has televised Wimbledon for 31 years, will continue to offer weekend and holiday coverage. This year’s tournament runs from June 26 to July 9.

Although Turner Sports’ rights fee is about the same as HBO’s, the total value of the deal, including Internet, promotional and marketing aspects, is slightly more than the estimated $28 million the All England Club was getting from NBC and HBO combined.