BBC paid McEnroe 10 times more than Navratilova

LONDON, March 19 

Former tennis champion Martina Navratilova said on Monday she was shocked to discover that Britain’s public broadcaster, BBC, paid John McEnroe at least 10 times more than her for their commentary of the Wimbledon tournament. Navratilova said she found out McEnroe made at least £150,000 compared to her £15,000 when the BBC, under government pressure, released a list last year of the earnings of its top earning presenters and journalists.

British companies are under heightened scrutiny over their pay structures and the BBC has faced criticism from women complaining they are paid less than men in equivalent jobs and misled about their pay to hide widespread gender discrimination. “Unless John McEnroe is doing a lot of stuff outside of Wimbledon, he’s getting at least 10 times as much money for very comparable work,” Navratilova said in an interview to be aired on Panorama, BBC’s investigative programme, on Monday.

Navratilova said she was told she was receiving a similar amount to her male counterpart. Panorama estimated McEnroe made about three times as many Wimbledon appearances as Navratilova. McEnroe was not immediately available to comment. BBC Sport said McEnroe and Navratilova performed different roles in the team. Navratilova agreed McEnroe was on air more. “Ten times as much? I don’t think so,” she said.

BBC has admitted to a gender pay gap of 9 percent, but said this is narrower than the British average of 18 percent. — Reuters