Wimbledon is one tournament in the extremely commercial world of tennis that still doesn’t compromise on its legacy for the commercial gains. Till date, there are no courtside advertisement hoardings or LED boards at the All England Lawn Tennis Club courts during the Wimbledon Championships.
Still, the oldest tennis tournament in the world also boasts of the oldest existing sports sponsorship deal in sports world, while keeping pace with times the Wimbledon organisers have inked two commercial partnerships which will become effective from the next season.
For the one Wimbledon Championship, the commercial tie-ups include 14 brands, four global broadcast partners who are taking the Championship action live to 48 territories through 86 broadcasters.
The 2018 edition of the oldest tennis tournament on the planet, Wimbledon, is underway. The third grand slam of the tennis calendar is rated as one of the most prestigious of the other three grand slams for its rich heritage and traditions surviving since 1877.
From the strict dress code for participants, tradition of strawberries and cream during the tournament, to the distinction of not permitting in-stadia advertisement hoardings, the organisers of the Wimbledon, All England Lawn Tennis Association have maintained its unique identity and a class beyond comparison with other sporting events since its inception.
The Club has always sought to retain the unique image and character of The Championships and has successfully achieved this over many years by developing long-term mutually beneficial Official Supplier agreements with a range of blue-chip brands, as well as specifically not commercialising the Grounds overtly.
The income from the Official Suppliers is an important part of The Championships’ surplus which goes back into the development of the game of tennis through The Lawn Tennis Association.
Wimbledon, The Championship, is known for its oldest running sponsorship and commercial alliances. Its high value and regards of its commercial partners is seen in its 116 year long association with Slazenger. The British sporting goods manufacturer has been the Official Supplier of tennis balls since 1902.
Slazenger will supply 54,250 balls for this year’s tournament, each of which will be tested for weight, bounce and compression. The more than a century-old association has crafted together 800 champions from among 14,000 players over 45,000 matches.
The second oldest sponsor of Wimbledon is Robinson squash. Wimbledon’s association with Robinson squash will complete 83 years with this 2018 season. The Robinsons Squash, in fact, was born at The Championships in 1935 with the invention of brand’s Lemon Barley Water to quench the thirst of all the players.
Among other longest running strategic commercial alliances are IBM (official IT partner since 1990), Lanson (official champagne since 2001), Ralph Lauren (official outfitter since 2006), HSBC (official bank since 2008), Evian (official water since 2008), Lavazza (official coffee since 2011), Stella Artois (official beer since 2014).
Pimm’s & Lemonade, Häagen-Dazs and Jaguar & Land Rover are among other top notch brand that have joined Wimbledon’s long list of sponsor roster until recently. Tata Group owned Jaguar & Land Rover, who came on board in 2015, will supply 170 luxury and high performance vehicles to support tournament operations. Häagen-Dazs came on board in 2016 as the tournament’s official ice cream while Pimm’s & Lemonade was signed last year.
The youngest of the 12 Championship partners is perhaps the oldest brand in terms of its origin to have an association with the Wimbledon. Pimm’s & Lemonade was established in 1840, 33 years earlier than the Championship came into existence, by James Pimm in his famous Oyster Bar in London.
Wimbledon has recently announced American Express as the official payments partner from 2019 edition after the financial services company signed a multi-year partnership with the organisers. Evian and HSBC have extended their contract in 2018 for the next five years whereas Lanson has extended its agreement for three years. The beer brand Stella Artois three year extension will run from 2019.
On the broadcasting front, the AELTC has announced an extension with beIN Sport for the exclusive rights to The Championships in France and the Middle East & North Africa, with NHK in Japan, and with Telefonica in Spain. In India, Star-Sports select will broadcast the Wimbledon 2018.
Year 2018 marks the first year of Wimbledon Broadcast Services, the AELTC’s new host broadcast operation. WBS will provide multicamera coverage of all 18 Championships courts for the first time, a net-cam on both Centre Court and No.1 Court, along with other enhancements. A workforce of approximately 2500 are working in the broadcast centre to bring the live action form 18 courts, more than any other grand slams. There are positions for 120 commentators on Centre Court alone.
The four official broadcast partners mentioned above have syndicated media rights to 84 different entities in 48 territories. BBC is the biggest broadcaster for the Championship, broadcasting Wimbledon across the United Kingdom on 11 different screens.
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