GREAT SPORT
Serving up the perfect fortnight
LIVE SPORT WINNER
WIMBLEDON 2019 BBC BBC Sport & Wimbledon Broadcast Services
Lead Executive, Major Events for BBC Sport, Ron Chakraborty, on the balance of constantly evolving the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon while making sure the magic remains.
It may only run across one fortnight in the summer but planning for the Wimbledon Championships is a constant throughout the entire year, says Lead Executive, Major Events for BBC Sport, Ron Chakraborty. “There’s usually time for the dust to settle,” after the fortnight, “but it kind of never stops,” he says.
And the evolution of the technology used for the coverage is a constant too. The 2019 championships, for instance, was the first year that the Wire Cam installed by Wimbledon Broadcast Services became available. “It was very difficult given the residential nature of the club but it just added so much,” says Chakraborty. “And they’re extending it by another 200 metres for next year as well. So as well as using it for Centre Court and Court One when we’ve got the big matches, you can see the practice courts too.”
The presentation coverage is also constantly evolving. “We’re always looking at other places, other platforms where we might be able to open the show with Sue [Barker] having a different view of the club,” says Chakraborty. “So it’s not just the coverage of the tennis but even what we do around the tennis. We’re always looking to work with the club to make Wimbledon look as good as it can.” But all changes have to be very sensitive. “With
Wimbledon, more than any other tournament and maybe any other event we do, it is a case of evolution rather than revolution,” says Chakraborty. And that’s because “the greatest thing about Wimbledon is the tradition - the great tennis, the whites, the strawberries and cream, the whole backdrop of the place is what makes Wimbledon magic so you don’t want to be changing any of that dramatically.” But
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