RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPORT AND MEDIA

1. LUTFHI ABDIL KHUDDUS
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
SPORT AND MEDIA

2. Definition Media and Sport
MEDIA: The main ways that large numbers of people receive information and
entertainment, that is television, radio, newspapers and the Internet the
news/broadcasting. (oxford dictionary)
SPORT: A human activity capable of achieving a result requiring physical
exertion and/or physical skill, which, by its nature and organization, is
competitive and is generally accepted as being a sport. (Australian Sports
Commission, ASC)

3. Sport and the Media
 Institutions that are not separate
 Commercial industries
 Two of the most lucrative businesses
 Focused on Economic profit

4. Media and Power
The media often serve the interests of those with
power and wealth in society. As corporate control
of media has increased & become more
concentrated, media content emphasizes the
following as natural and necessary in society:
 Consumerism
 Individualism
 Competition

5. Social Roles of the Mass Media
 Mass Media
 “All of the technically organized means of
communication that reach large numbers of
diverse people quickly and efficiently” (Eitzen &
Sage, 2003)
 Print Media
Newspapers, Magazines, & Books
 Electronic Media
Radio, Television, movies, & the Internet

6. Links Between Mass Media & Sport
 Newspapers:
 Mid 19th century began periodic coverage of sport
 By 1890’s sports section was a regular feature
 Today, almost 50% of some papers devoted to sport
and the sports pages have 5X the number of
readers of any other section

7. Links Between Mass Media & Sport
 Magazines:
 First magazines were focused on “outdoor”
activities – hunting, fishing, horse racing.
 1830, 1st sport journal: Spirit of the Times 1886 –
The Sporting News
 Can differentiate based on sport
 Sports Illustrated (1954) 3.5 million copies weekly
 ½ the space at any newsstand is for sport related
magazines

8. Links Between Mass Media & Sport
 Books:
 Many books on boxing, horse racing, & field sports
appeared in the late 19th c.
 Increasingly, “serious” writers began to explore
sporting themes
 Even a journal of Sport Literature!
 Former athletes and sport journalists making big
impact (form kiss-and tell, to expose books)

9. Links Between Mass Media & Sport
 Radio:
 Electronic media of all types have made dramatic
inroads into sport
 KDKA went ton the air in 1920 and in 1921
broadcast heavyweight championship fight
 With TV, radios dominance subsided in the 1950’s
 Still: 700,000 hours of sports
 Call-in shows, play-by-play, interviews…
 Increasing number of “all-sport” radio shows

10. Links Between Mass Media &
Sport
 Television:
 Predominant presenter of sport
 1950 – less than 10%; by 2001 98% of USA
households had TV’s
 By 2000 average viewer received 55 channels
 North Americans own more than 240 million TV sets
– over 1/3 of the world's total!!

11. Positive Effects of media on
sports
 Money - Media companies pay for the rights to show a
sporting event. Also, sports shown on the tv generate
more sponsorship
 Education - People learn the rules of the sport from
watching it on TV.
 Role models - Seeing good sports people on TV and in
newspapers makes them a role model for people to look
up to.
 Inspiration - Media brings sport to people who may not
normally get to experience it otherwise. This can
encourage people to get involved.
 Coaching aid - Watching professionals on the tv can
help you see how a technique should be performed
which could help your performance.

12. Negative Effects of media on
sports
The media can also have a negative effect on sport:
 Bias - Only the really popular sports get much attention on the TV and in
newspapers etc. This doesn't help encourage people into the less
popular sports
 Lack of Attendance - For matches that are shown on TV, ticket sales
often drop
 Overload - There is a lot of sport on TV nowadays, some say too much!
 Attention - Sport stars often complain of too much attention being paid
to their private lives.
 Demands - The media can put pressure on the organizers of sporting
competitions to make the viewing experience better for TV audiences.
For example, in a previous Olympics, the marathon was run at a time
which suited TV companies, even though it was at the hottest time of
day!

13. Conclusion
 Sports and the media have both a global and a local scope
of operation and are bound together in a complex network
of relationship.
 The power of the small number of major media companies
raises important issues of the access and equity,
especially with the growth of pay to view sports events.
 While the media have demonstrated a considerable
capacity to influence the character and development of
sports, it should be noted that there is little evidence of
resistance to comodification from sports bodies or athletes.

14. THANK
YOU