ESPN bounces NBC to score Wimbledon

NBC lost its 43-year grip on Wimbledon, considered the most prestigious tournament in tennis, after cable sports kingpin ESPN outbid it for the live TV rights.
The power serve was a 12-year, $400 million offer that was too heavy for cable giant Comcast, the Peacock Network's new parent.
"They [Comcast] were just outbid and apparently didn't have enough left over to keep Wimbledon," said analyst Darren Marshall of sports marketing firm rEvolution.
ESPN has had the cable rights to the British-based event since 2003, but NBC had all of the semifinals and finals. NBC's deals expired with the tournament's end on Sunday.
Along with added cash, Disney's ESPN and its sister network, ABC, won over the Wimbledon tournament owners -- the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club -- with an unprecedented arrangement to cover the two-week event live from start to finish.
Tournament owners disliked the way NBC reverted to tape delays in order to accommodate other money-making programming, as it did last week with its "Today" show, analysts said.
"With NBC, Wimbledon was always at the mercy of its programming -- God forbid, 'if we lose an hour of the 'Today' show," said Marshall.
ESPN had done live partial coverage of preliminary matches for nine years, with the final showdowns of superstars going to NBC and its tape-delay coverage.
Insiders said some tennis fans may miss their easy-to-find NBC coverage.
"All the suburban moms who love tennis will now have to spend time searching for it," said Kevin Adler, president of sports marketing firm Engage Marketing.
One thing will remain: NBC's Wimbledon commentator, ex-tennis champ John McEnroe, is said to be in talks to move over to the ESPN coverage team.