BBC Tennis

BBC Tennis
You’re a news and sport radio station.
It’s reached the stage in the World Cup where final group games take place simultaneously and you’ve promised listeners that you’ll cover all the matches.
It’s Wimbledon fortnight and Andy Murray has his opening match.
There’s an emergency Budget taking place in the Commons.
[UPDATE] And an England v Australia one-day fixture.
How do you cover all this? Ordinarily Five Live’s “sister” service, Five Live Sports Extra would suffice. But this week, there’s just too much happening. So you play around with your DAB multiplex, and you conjour up a new service: BBC Tennis.
The BBC really does cover Wimbledon well. Last night when I got in, I had the choice of six live games on satellite (Freeview viewers get slightly fewer). And then there’s the HD TV coverage.
For the technically minded, this service has the effect of knocking Radio 4 down to 80k mono. In other words, it occupies the space used by Parliament and the Daily Service during other Radio 4 opt-outs.
Incidentally, I believe Talksport uses DAB and AM to offer listeners a choice of either game during these final stages, although I’ve not been able to confirm that on their website. As digital platforms become more popular, this is going to become a harder decision to make. If loyal listeners have purchased DAB sets, then they might be disappointed to have to dig out an AM radio to hear an England game when the less popular fixture has been put on the digital platform.
I did notice that Talksport is not carrying streaming coverage of their games however, which surprised me since Five Live is. This is almost certainly due to Talksport’s ability to geo-IP block since their rights almost certainly only extend to the UK. [UPDATE] This is due to the additional fees FIFA wanted to allow streaming rights (See comments below).
One way or another, you’re spoilt for choice with sport on the radio.


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9 responses to “BBC Tennis”

  1. Ash avatar
    Ash

    BBC Radio 3 also has it’s part to play in this reconfiguration by reducing to 160kbps.

  2. Adam Bowie avatar

    I didn’t spot that Ash. Thanks!
    (Stand back and wait for the outrage from R3 listeners)

  3. Chris avatar
    Chris

    I’m not sure if talkSPORT’s non-streaming of the World Cup is down to their technical abilities – they seem to do fine carrying the Premier League commentaries online and I’m sure these are blocked from outside the UK.

  4. Adam Bowie avatar

    Good point Chris.
    In that case, it’s almost certainly a FIFA diktat. Or perhaps a case of them charging an additional fee (on top of the no doubt healthy one Talksport is already paying) for the right to stream commentaries within the UK.

  5. Matt avatar
    Matt

    talkSPORT aren’t carrying the World Cup games online as FIFA wanted more money for the rights.

  6. Adam Bowie avatar

    Thanks for explaining that Matt. I’ve updated the blog above.

  7. Mark avatar
    Mark

    BBC Radio will also need three streams on DAB on Saturday 3rd July between 3-5pm:
    Five Live: Germany v Argentina (World Cup Quarter Final)
    Five Live Sports Extra: 5th ODI Cricket: Eng v Aus
    BBC Tennis: Wimbledon Women’s Singles Final

  8. Tennisbaelle Steve avatar

    Is this also going to be available for this years Wimbledon? Overlaps happen with the female soccer world cup in the last week of the tournament

  9. Adam Bowie avatar

    I’ve no idea, but I suspect not.