Where to watch Wimbledon 2011 online

Wimbledon is always a favorite among tennis fans, and this year’s tournament will likely be no different. The 2011 Wimbledon Championships marks the 125th time the All England Lawn Tennis Club will have hosted The Championships since it was founded in 1877. Early rounds of the tournament are already underway, so how can fans tune in?

Being held in the U.K. means early starts for many U.S. viewers, with matches throughout the workday. Luckily for many viewers, ESPN’s broadband video service ESPN3 will be live streaming the event online, as well as to Xbox Live users. One quick note: ESPN3 isn’t available to all broadband subscribers — just those whose ISPs have struck deals with the “worldwide leader in sports.” (To see if ESPN3 is available on your ISP, check this list.)

And for those with access to the WatchESPN iPad, iPhone and Android apps, the live stream will also be available to users who can authenticate with their service provider’s login system. (Right now that’s limited to Time Warner Cable, Brighthouse Networks and Verizon FiOS subscribers.)

Over the next two weeks, ESPN3 will provide live streaming of up to a dozen matches per day from various courts at Wimbledon, beginning at 7:00 AM ET every morning. The coverage culminates in quarterfinal matches Tuesday, June 28 and Wednesday, June 29; semifinal matches on Thursday, June 30 and Friday, July 1; and Ladies’ and Gentlemans’ Finals on Saturday, July 2 and Sunday, July 3, respectively.

For those that don’t have access to ESPN3, NBC Sports will also live streaming coverage of the tournament, beginning June 25 and extending through the finals on July 2 and July 3.

Photo courtesy of (CC BY 2.0) Flickr user vic15.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

  • The state of the e-book lending market: Business models and challenges
  • The Case for Increased M&A in 2011: Actions and Outlooks
  • Strategic Implications of the Microsoft/Skype Deal



GigaOM — Tech News, Analysis and Trends