THE BBC have defended the decision to give John McEnroe a pay rise despite the legendary tennis star not commentating on the men’s Wimbledon final.
The Times report that BBC insiders have stood by their decision to pay McEnroe £205,000 for his two weeks of work at Wimbledon.
John Mcenroe earned £205k for his Wimbeldon coverage
The tennis legend has been a consistent feature of the BBC’s coverage for a number of years now.
The latest BBC figures show that McEnroe earned between £205k and £210k, a ten per cent rise on the previous year.
McEnroe also commentates for ESPN’s coverage of the tournament.
The three-time Wimbledon champion commentated on the men’s final for ESPN rather than the BBC.
A Beeb insider said McEnroe appeared on BBC screens every day over the two weeks as either a commentator or studio guest and commentated on the women’s singles final.
Defending the BBC’s decision, a spokesperson said: “He is one of the most popular and respected pundits in tennis, and he provides a unique perspective to our coverage.”
For the men’s final, the BBC opted for a commentary team lineup of Andrew Castle, Todd Woodbridge and Tim Henman to commentate on Carlos Alcaraz‘s victory over Novak Djokovic.
McEnroe instead commentated on Marketa Vondrousova’s victory over Ons Jabeur as she became the first unseeded woman to ever win the women’s title.
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This year’s tournament also marked the first time coverage was not headed by veteran broadcaster Sue Barker.
After 30 years as the face of the BBC’s coverage of the event, Barker stepped down last year to be replaced by Clare Balding.
McEnroe is one of the BBC’s top earners, with Match Of The Day‘s Gary Lineker topping the list with his salary of £1.35million-a-year.
