3 serves up Wimbledon video action

June 21, 2004

For the first time, tennis fans will be able to catch the on and off-court action from Wimbledon on video mobile phones.

With the start of the tournament on Monday June 21st, customers of video mobile network 3 will be able to watch news, interviews and match footage featuring all the stars of the 2004 championships on their handsets.

The daily service for Wimbledon will include three news bulletins, four key interviews and an end of play highlights package featuring the best of the day's play. Customers will also be able to watch profiles of the leading players in this year's tournament, including Tim Henman and Andy Roddick. The video highlights are being provided by TWI's Interactive division in conjunction with The All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Along with a video review of last year's tournament, an archive of 'Golden Highlights' footage from previous tournaments is also available to download, including the classic McEnroe v Borg final, Boris Becker's first win aged 17 and the two Williams sisters' finals encounter in the ladies' singles.

The Wimbledon service from 3 also includes a text alerts option, which will offer updates on men's and ladies' singles results and will highlight availability of new video clips of the action.

The Wimbledon Championships service is available through 'Today on 3', the UK's first live video mobile news and entertainment channel.

Each news and interview video clip will cost 25p and the end of day highlights package costs 50p. Video clip alerts are free of charge.

Rob McCowen, AELTC Marketing Director: "One of the Club's objectives has always been to bring the excitement of Wimbledon to as wide an audience of fans as possible, be it on TV, radio, the internet and now video mobile. We are delighted that, for the first time, thanks to our association with 3, fans will now be able to watch Wimbledon highlights on their mobile phones. "

Graeme Oxby, 3's Marketing Director said: "With this service, 3 customers can experience all the excitement of Britain's favourite summer event through their video mobiles. Keep up to date on how Tim is progressing with the latest news, results and video alerts. 3 is committed to providing the leading mobile sports service and the launch of our service for Wimbledon 2004 underlines that commitment. With this announcement, for the first time, customers will be able to watch the highlights from SW19 on video mobile."

Todd McCormack, CEO, TWIi: "We are pleased to be facilitating the Club's delivery of all the highlights of the fortnight to 3 customers so they can enjoy the Wimbledon Championships. TWIi looks forward to working with 3 on this innovative and compelling service. As one of the leaders in delivering new media services to the world of sport and entertainment, we are well positioned to leverage our experience to deliver the video features to 3's customers in a standard consistent with Wimbledon's stature."

The Wimbledon service is also included in a new and expanded 'sports add-on' from 3, which combines video news and match highlights with a comprehensive text alert, fixtures and live scores service.

For £5 a month, the add-on offers unlimited access to Britain's largest mobile sports portfolio, including video from Sky Sports news, next season's Premiership and UEFA Champions League football, and this year's Open Golf Championship in Troon.