Sports as an entertainment industry Please View!

Learning goals We are learning to identify the media’s influence on sport. We are learning the pros and cons of this influence.

What are “the media”? the various means of communication through which people are reached widely includes: Newspapers Radio Television The Internet Social and news networks

The powerful influence of tv Early on, newspapers included sports coverage but fans had to wait until after the sporting event to find out who won. In the 1930s and 1940s, radio broadcasts broke that pattern by allowing live sports coverage. first NHL hockey games came to viewers at home in Canada in 1952. TV has reshaped the rules of sport, caused the redesign of players’ uniforms and equipment, and affected the duration and tempo of sporting events. TV has refashioned the elite sporting event as a fast-paced, advertisement- interspersed entertainment vehicle. Fans can view sporting events that are televised live, tape-delayed, and streamed online and on mobile platforms.

The “Sports as entertainment industry” technological advances in TV broadcasting have led to growth the “extras” include: Celebrity interviews Play-by-play announcers Pre- and post-game analysis sessions Highlights from other games played simultaneously Instant replays, and In-depth player profiles

Digital advances in sport entertainment Significant technological advances in the delivery of “sport- as-entertainment” are taking place each and every year. games broadcast games in high-definition enormous screens at sporting events offer crystal- clear, digital pictures recording and saving memorable games. Internet: in-game stats, vote online for best players and plays, and video highlights via mobile devices.

Broadcasting rights primary relationship between pro sports teams and leagues and the media is the sale of broadcasting rights to games. TV and media organizations pay huge sums of money for the exclusive right to broadcast sporting events live. A major benchmark was set when the U.S. networks CBS and Turner Broadcasting signed a contract with the NCAA for rights to broadcast the “March Madness” men’s basketball tournament for US$11 billion for 14 years.

Sport and social media social media play an increasingly important role in how fans follow sport fans can follow live action or catch highlights on computers or smartphones fans routinely view game highlights and bloopers on YouTube use Twitter and Facebook to receive and share the latest scores and statistics within seconds of the action can engage in direct social exchanges with their favourite athletes via Twitter

The downside of digital communications widely accessible digital communications technologies have created new possibilities for signal theft (digital piracy). live sports broadcasts are therefore vulnerable to unauthorized retransmission over the Internet. signal piracy threatens the advertising and sales revenues of broadcasters who have paid exclusive rights to show live coverage of sports events.

Media conglomerates and sports Is there a conflict of interest when a company purchasing a sports team owns media outlets as well? in 2011, Rogers Communications acquired a share of almost 40% in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE). MLSE owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Marlies, and the Toronto FC soccer team. Bell Canada owns 30% of MLSE.

MLSE

Advantages of MLSE partnership with media giants MLSE needs to work with communications companies to televise and broadcast games, publish print information, and post information online there is need to pay an outside company for communications/promotion services the MLSE franchise can supply its own communications services itself

Disadvantages of MLSE partnership with media giants the uneasy combined ownership of media and “product” can pose a conflict of interest. Will fans enjoy unbiased coverage of MLSE teams by people hired to provide coverage who are employed by the same company? all the money an average group of fans pays to consume sports—for tickets, cable fees, and bandwidth fees—now goes to one very powerful company.

The risks of concentrated power With much of sports and sports media owned by one conglomerate, has too much “sports power” been concentrated in the hands of too few people? Might the conglomerate try to exploit the situation by charging higher fees for watching sports or by placing unreasonable demands on others involved in the industry?

summary Mass media, including social media, have exerted profound influences on physical activity and sport. Television has reshaped the sport-as- entertainment industry most strongly. There are complex issues related to sport as entertainment, e.g., broadcasting rights and ownership concentration.

Learning goals We are learning to identify the media’s influence on sport. We are learning the pros and cons of this influence.