NTV+ secures Wimbledon rights

Russian pay TV provider NTV+ has struck a deal with the All England Lawn Tennis Club through IMG to secure rights to broadcast this year’s Wimbledon tennis championship.

NTV+ will broadcast the competition, which begins today, on its dedicated tennis channe and on NTV+ Sport HD, showing at least two matches per day live on the latter.

NTV+ CEO Alexander Vronsky said he was delighted that Wimbledon was returning to the broadcaster’s channels after two years.

Separately, NTV+ is reportedly set to launch a terrestrial sports channel, Sports 360, based on its potential acquisition of the frequencies used by RTR-owned Russia 2.

According to local press, the Russian government has instructed RTR to transfer the channel to NTV+ owner Gazprom Media by August 1. Gazprom Media will pay a reported €9 billion for the channel, which is expected to relaunch as Sports 360 in September.