The BBC need to jazz up Wimbledon? You cannot be serious

The BBC is reportedly under some pressure from the All England Club to zhuzh up its Wimbledon coverage, deemed “stale and outdated”, ­apparently. No evidence, the reports insist, that the club want to place the tournament elsewhere. But if the Beeb could see its way to… well, what, in fact? Strap a bodycam to John McEnroe? Attach Clare Balding to a bungee cord?

Madness, whatever. Stale and outdated? That’s exactly what so many of us love about the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage, and why we go back, year after year.

So what’s behind this peculiar story? Has the All England Club – one of Britain’s most heroically change-­resistant institutions, let’s remember – merely suggested a slightly tighter focus on the strawberry sales going forward (“but up to you!”)? And has this entirely benign request been gleefully weaponised against the BBC in the way which is currently all the rage among right-leaning media organisations? (Notably strained headline in the Daily Express: “Tennis chiefs make decision on stripping BBC of Wimbledon after talks.”)

Or is this just a bit of typical jostling on the eve of a new rights negotiation, conducted in keeping with the art of the deal in the age of Trump – namely, sounding disconcertingly serious while saying the first manifestly ridiculous thing that comes into your head?

Or (perish the thought) is the call coming from inside the house – modernisers at the BBC cunningly using a well-placed leak to lay the grounds for a spot of potentially controversial cupboard-clearing, à la Gary Lineker on Match of the Day?

Clearly we could be whole months unpicking the politics of this. But one thing is clear: anyone calling for fresher, more modern Wimbledon coverage should be very careful what they wish for. Like royal funerals, Trooping the Colour and annual coverage from the Cenotaph, Wimbledon is something the BBC currently broadcasts with unparalleled skill.

For a fortnight every year, the ­raucous and vulgar competitiveness of an elite-level sporting contest meets the stiffness of a Buckingham Palace garden party. Only Auntie can curtsy low enough while ­remaining standing in order to bring that particularly complex cocktail to the screen.

The result is a visual and tonal triumph in which the event is somehow worshipfully celebrated and royally patronised at the same time. In this sense, the BBC and Wimbledon are a perfect marriage, to the point where one is tempted to say, as of no other sport, that the BBC is Wimbledon, and Wimbledon is the BBC.

Similarly, the more than five million who tune in to watch Emma Raducanu on a Wednesday tea-time and the eight million-plus who gather for the men’s final (viewing figures other sports platforms can only dream of) are largely people for whom tennis is Wimbledon – people like my late mother who, for two weeks of the year, was on first-name terms with “Roger”, “Andy” and “Serena”, but who never gave them a second thought during the other 50.

What updates could serve this audience better than it already is? Further multi-screen options? We already have that: it’s changing over to BBC2 when the news comes on. Digitally enhanced technical analysis? Not remotely interested. Greater interaction with the stars? Seriously, is anyone genuinely crying out to hear more from tennis players on the subject of tennis than they currently do?

Just show us the tournament and get a couple of ex-pros to chat about it while we half-listen or make another cup of tea. Yes, this approach is as hidebound and behind the curve as… well, terrestrial TV. But that also remains surprisingly popular.

Anyway, wouldn’t dragging Wimbledon kicking and screaming into the 21st century ultimately be the responsibility of the All England Club, rather than the BBC? I mean, the BBC is there to cover it, isn’t it, rather than to make it more fun than it is? Other tennis majors are exercising their options here, such as the US Open last year with its invitational mixed doubles tournament, and the Australian Open this week with that million-­dollar pro-am shootout. And hopefully the All England Club remain too snooty for that kind of nonsense, too.

Photograph by Julian Finney/Getty Images