Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

We need to get all our commentators working in our style. It takes a couple of days to get that to happen but slowly and surely it does. It is our policy for commentators to make a succinct point and not to bombard people with meaningless drivel.

How much influence does the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ have on the order of play each day?
All broadcasters can put their requests for when they would like a match to be played via official systems at the club and those are then passed on to the referee's office.

Clearly as host broadcaster, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ would like to feel we have a good degree of influence on the order of play. But at the end of the day it is simply a request we put in. There are so many other factors that the order of play committee need to take into account.

Why do you leave matches before their conclusion to go to other matches?
It’s always a very difficult decision. It is great that we often have two channels running at the same time, which means that we can leave matches on air whilst other good matches are coming up. Also 80% of the country have access to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔi on the red button so we can switch a match to Interactive and people can carrying on viewing it there.

It’s an editorial decision that we have to weigh up and it’s not always straightforward. We understand that people can feel cheated when they have watched a match for a long time, but options are always available to them to carry on viewing the match of their choice.

Why is Wimbledon on so much and on two channels simultaneously?
This is probably the biggest complaint that we get. Wimbledon is the biggest annual sports event we broadcast. For two weeks there is tremendous interest from around the world and the UK and we feel, and the channel controllers feel, that it deserves the sort of air time that it gets. The overlap is not that extensive as it is only for perhaps a couple of hours in the afternoon.

Why do you show so many / few Brits?
The fact that we get an equal amount of complaints about not enough action of British players and showing too much of British players. Hopefully means that we get the coverage just about right.

Certainly early on in the tournament the lesser known Brits tend to play on courts where we have only a few cameras covering the action, where as the bigger names and higher seeds are on the main show courts where coverage is much more comprehensive.

If we always showed the Brits on those minor courts it would not make for such good quality television. Clearly if there is an editorial reason to show a British player then we would go across to it and again there is always our interactive service to back it up.

Why do you always focus on the same few fans in the crowd?
There tends to be a group of fans during a game who get animated and the cameramen focus on them to provide good cutaways. I think it is a mistake to show them too much or too often as it becomes repetitive. I think we need to work harder at getting alternative shots and images of the atmosphere, so I think that’s a fair complaint.

Did you try and get Andy Murray on as a commentator?
We did not try and get Andy Murray on as a commentator as it is simply not on the agenda for him at the moment. He wishes to get fit and has no desire at this stage to do any commentary. Andy has been brilliant doing interviews for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and we have a great relationship with him, but commentary is not for him at the moment.

Why does Tim Henman get so much exposure on TV and on Centre Court when he has such a low ranking?
Tim Henman is a unique case. If it purely went by his ranking, his matches would not be on Centre Court, but I think his pedigree at Wimbledon merits such reward. We’ve seen how competitive he remains and the type and nature of audience he can get, not just on Centre Court but on TV, dictates that he deserves to be there.

If he had progressed further then maybe the officials would not have been able to have kept him on Centre so it would have been an interesting call.