Media’s Effects on Sports
Sporting events
generated approximately $10.9 billion in advertising in 2011, and the biggest
advertisers made up an astounding 26% of the total spent. The total time
sporting events were aired across national television reached 42,500 hours in
2011, a 5% increase from 2010. The increased coverage of sporting events is
directly related to the increased amount of money spent on advertisement.
Whenever the
financial relationship between two different industries, in this case sports
and the media, there is going to exist some complex relationships that will not
always be apparent to the viewers. Since sports as a whole are directly
influenced by the income generated by the media, the media can, in response,
have a very significant impact on the social perception of sports. Since the
overall objective of the media is to generate the most income possible, there
is some concern as to whether their representation of sports actually mirrors
reality, or if the media’s coverage of sports is a construction of their alternative
motives.
The media has
obviously helped sporting organization in terms of improving their overall
coverage, but sports have also lost a good amount of control over their destiny
and activities. The tradeoff that sporting organization make is that they lose
control of some of the details such as date, time, and the choosing of a venue.
The media determines these details based on their economic interests and what
will generate the most viewers. Even something as prominent and huge as the
World Cup is influenced by media preferences. The tournament now involves more
teams and covers a longer time span, which is a direct influence of the
relationship between media and sport.
The increased
control that the media has had on sports means that they are often in a
position to manipulate and dictate the characteristics of sports. Some of the
media’s influences include creating new competitions, leagues, and events that
they believe with improve their bottom line. Even specific details of the
sports itself are manipulated to increase coverage. Rules and playing
conditions have often been modified in some way as a direct result of the
media. Team uniforms and playing gear have also been adjusted in certain ways
to increase popularity. Team equipment, such as baseball bats and the types of
balls used for soccer, have also been played around with by the media to see
what will generate the most exciting and high scoring games. Viewers are much
more likely to watch a sporting event that is high scoring and exciting, and
the media has found ways to change the dynamics of certain sports to appeal to
the fans.
This is not a
revolutionary discovery by the media. Viewers are much more likely to view
material that they enjoy and that is consistent with what they enjoyed watching
in the past. Arthur Raney, in his article Why
We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports, opens with an explanation of how
viewers seek to avoid material that is not consistent with their beliefs, a
phenomenon known as selective exposure. Sporting events are not different in
that many viewers are seeking to reconfirm something they have seen in the past
that they have enjoyed viewing. It is the media’s belief that it is up to them,
and not the sporting organizations themselves, to control the coverage and
presentation of sports in a way that appeals to the viewers and fans. One of
the main satisfactions that fans get by viewing mediated sporting event is
through their support for one team or another. Even if fans may feel negative
feelings if they view the team they support lose, they still gain the initial
satisfaction of engaging in the excitement and thrill of the game.
Since fans have
such an emotional attachment to the thrill of the game, the media has taken it
upon them to continue to deliver a spectacle that will have fans returning for
chance to replicate the same feelings they experienced in the past. Even the
colors and designs of the uniforms can add to the spectacle and drama of the
event. New stadiums have been built to involve extensive advertising
opportunities. Sports have pretty much evolved into a product that can be
manufactured and sold. Sport organizations are on board with this relationship
with the media and often make the changes that are requested. English soccer,
for example, was once strictly a Saturday afternoon ritual, but a request from
television companies for more games to fill their schedules has now made it an
almost daily event.
Changes are also
often made to improve interest when a sport has been struggling in terms of
viewership. A number of female sports
now have the athletes wearing tighter fitting clothing. Rules changes to hockey
have been made to speed up the play of the game. Lots of times the schedule of
the games are much more fitting for the media than the athletes themselves. It
is an interesting dynamic that the very athletes that fans expect to perform at
world class levels are compromised in their performance because the fans needs
are put before the athlete.
So the biggest
concern is whether or not the media should have such a claim to the fate of
sporting events. Overall, the media is attempting to create a spectacle that is
more exciting and engaging for the viewer, but whether or not this compromise is
good for the sports themselves seem to be questionable. Athletes are some of
the most effected by the media’s influence since their needs are often the ones
compromised when making these decisions.
Sources
Stead, David.
"Chapter 10." Sport and Society: A Student Introduction.
London: Sage Publications, 2003. N. pag. Print.
State of the
Media: 2011 Year in Sports.
N.p.: Nielson, 2012. Print.
Raney, Arthur
A., and Jennings Bryant. "Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports." Handbook
of Sports and Media. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 2006. N. pag.
Print.
Jim, Whiskey.
"The Media and Sports." CBS Sports. N.p., 17th Feb. 2009. Web.
