ESPN will continue to prioritize its direct-to-consumer app and ESPN Unlimited subscription plan during its upcoming coverage of Wimbledon. John Suchenski, who leads the day-to-day business management of the network’s tennis properties as Sr. Dir/Programming & Acquisitions, told SBJ that all of ESPN’s Wimbledon coverage will be made available in the ESPN Unlimited tier of the DTC app, a slight shift from the Australian Open, when some matches were also available on ESPN Select (i.e., ESPN+).
“We wanted to simplify for this event, and make it available all in one place,” Suchenski said. “We don’t want you to have to choose, or potentially need multiple services, or be confused about where one match is versus the other. I know we saw some of that during the Australian Open.”
STRATEGY SHIFTS: During Wimbledon’s early rounds, Suchenski said ESPN will focus the programming of its linear channels (ESPN, ESPN2) on “matches we know will resonate most with fans,” including by whipping around from court-to-court. All men’s and women’s singles matches from the quarterfinals forward will air across ESPN and ESPN2 -- with the men’s and women’s finals each on ESPN -- and the tournament’s “middle Sunday” (July 5) will have an ABC window from noon to 5pm ET during the Round of 16. Typically, ABC has shorter windows on Wimbledon’s middle Saturday and Sunday, but Suchenski said Disney’s 24-hour slate of America 250 programming on July 4 necessitated keeping Wimbledon on ESPN that day and expanding the ABC window on July 5.
GAUGING GROWTH: The ESPN Unlimited tier of ESPN’s DTC app can be accessed directly for $29.99 per month, or via authentication with MVPDs including Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV, Fubo TV, Spectrum TV, Verizon FiOS, U-verse, Cox and Comcast Xfinity. (Notably, YouTube TV remains absent from this list). Suchenski would not comment on subscriber numbers, but said the app is “growing every day, every month that goes by.” Suchenski: “Our highest priority is direct-to-consumer right now, and tennis is custom-made for that in that there is so much content going on simultaneously. We see the linear coverage as the primary means that reaches the broadest possible audience, but also there’s supplementary content -- if you want to watch individual matches or potentially a match we’re not covering on linear, we’re making that available.”
TALKIN’ TALENT: Andy Roddick will make his ESPN debut as a studio and match analyst after signing a multiyear deal with the network this year that encompasses Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Rece Davis and Malika Andrews will host studio coverage. Chris McKendry has traditionally led ESPN’s Wimbledon desk, but shifted to a play-by-play role earlier this year, while Katie George, who teamed with Andrews to host ESPN’s studio desk at the Australian Open, is absent from the lineup and on maternity leave, according to a network spokesperson. Longtime analyst Chris Evert will also miss the tournament as she undergoes treatment for ovarian cancer. The rest:
- Play-by-play: Chris Fowler, Patrick McEnroe, Mike Monaco, Jason Goodall
- Analysts: John McEnroe, Mary Joe Fernandez, Caroline Wozniacki, James Blake, Chris Eubanks, Sam Querrey, CoCo Vandeweghe
- Reporters: Kris Budden, Jeff Darlington
