SPORT, COMMERCIALISM AND THE MASS MEDIA

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SPORT, COMMERCIALISM AND THE MASS MEDIA

• Lecture 7
• Coakley Chps 11 12

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Commercialisation

• Historically sports have been used as forms of
  entertainment
• However, they have never been more commercialised
  than today
• Commercial sports are organised and played to
  make money as entertainment events
• They depend on gate receipts, sponsorships and
  sale of media rights
• Therefore commercial sports are more suited to
  certain conditions ie

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• Most prevalent in market economies where material
  rewards are high
• Usually exist in densely populated cities for
  large spectator base
• Require people in a society to have time, money
  transportation and availability to media outlets
  (print and electronic)
• Commercial sports require large amounts of
  capital to build and maintain stadiums and arenas
  (therefore naming rights are important for )
• Commercial sports are most likely to flourish in
  cultures where lifestyles involve high rates of
  consumption and emphasise material status symbols
  (therefore everything associated with sports can
  be marketed and sold - ie autographs,
  merchandise, even team names)

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Class relations and commercial sports

• Which sports have become commercialised in
  society?
• Often those sports followed and watched by people
  who possess or control economic forces in society
• Eg Golf - the sport does not lend itself to a
  sporting spectacle in terms of high spectator
  numbers yet TV coverage is immense - a lot of
  money involved
• Those who play golf are wealthy powerful people
  and are important in terms of sponsorships and
  advertising

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• However, why does womens golf attain less TV and
  media?
• And then, which women attract the majority of
  attention?
• Despite these being gender issues they ultimately
  come down to money and market economies
• Arguably any sport can be marketed and promoted
  as an important sport to watch (WWF !!) (Hawaii
  Ironman-Sports Illustrated-ABC)
• When wealthy and powerful people are interested
  in a sport, it will be covered, promoted and
  presented as if it has a cultural significance in
  society (AFL, Australian Rugby Union, Cricket
  Australia - all being corporatised)

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Sport as BIG business

• Corporations understand the importance of sport
  as a marketing and branding tool for their
  product
• Athletes and sporting teams have a global
  marketing capacity (Jordan-Nike, Ian
  Thorpe-Adidas, Man United-Beckham-Vodafone,
  Atlanta Olympics-Coca-Cola)
• Even sports stadiums have been branded (AAMI
  stadium, ETSA Park, Telstra Dome, Telstra
  Stadium, Crazy Johns-Subiaco oval furore,
  Glenelg Oval?)

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Big sport is big money

• Hosting the Olympics is not about prestige, it is
  about money
• Politicians know what hosting the Olympics will
  mean to the economy (and votes)-increased
  tourism, global exposure, more jobs-building
  venues-roads, infrastructure money for public
  amenities, jubilant voters etc
• A successful national or global sporting team can
  mean important revenue for the city eg
  Manchester United, Chicago Bulls, Adelaide Crows,
  Port Power (notice these are all male sports)
• Big sport also creates huge revenue for media
  outlets - Locally, Nationally, Globally

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Media coverage and spectator interest

• The media promote the commercialisation of sports
• They provide needed publicity and create and
  maintain spectator interest among large numbers
  of people
• Radio was the first form, now television and
  moving to internet
• However, TV is the biggest single form of
  spectator access for sports and events all over
  the world

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The Media Provide

• Information
• Interpretation
• Entertainment

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Do Sports Depend on the Media?

• No, when they exist for the players themselves
• Yes, when they are forms of commercial
  entertainment
• Media coverage attracts attention and provides
  news of results
• Television has been a key factor in the growth
  and expansion of commercial sports
  (Television expands commercial value of sports)

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Have the Media Corrupted Sports?

• This is not likely because
• Sports are not shaped primarily by the media in
  general or TV in particular
  (Sports are social constructions that emerge
  in connection with many different social
  relationships)
• The media, including TV, do not operate in a
  political and economic vacuum
  (Government regulates the media, and economic
  factors set limits to control)

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Do the Media Depend on Sports?

• Most media do not depend on sports for content or
  sales
• Daily newspapers have depended on sports
  sections to boost circulation and advertising
  revenues
• Many television companies have depended on sports
  to fill program schedules, attract male viewers
  and the sponsors that want to reach them
  (Many sport events have audiences with
  clearly identifiable demographics-ie watch the
  ads-KFC cricketers box during cricket, footy pie)

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Trends in Televised Sports

• Rights fees have escalated rapidly since the
  1960s
• Sports programming has increased dramatically
• As more events are covered, ratings for
  particular events have decreased
  (Audience fragmentation has
  occurred-basketball from Winter to Summer, Uncle
  Toby Super Series surf lifesaving pulled
  completely)
• Television companies use sports events to promote
  other programming
• Television companies increasingly own teams and
  events (particularly in the US-although 7 Network
  and Telstra Dome have close links)

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Corporate sponsorship

• Many male executives of large media corporations
  love sports and the notion of being linked to
  sports
• Masculine culture is deeply embedded in these
  corporations (ie masculinised hierarchy)
• When sport emphasises competition, domination,
  and achievement, executives feel that these are
  crucial factors in their companies
  (They will pay big money to hire coaches
  to motivate employees around these themes .also
  pay large sums to sponsor teams and events)

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Alcohol Tobacco Sponsorships

• Corporations that sell alcohol and tobacco see
  sports as a key vehicle for promoting their
  products in connection with activities defined as
  healthy by most people
• If they cannot sponsor televised events, they
  will put signage on people, equipment, and
  facilities to be seen during television coverage
• The philosophical question is whether alcohol and
  tobacco sponsorship should be allowed considering
  the nature of the sport and physical activity
  ethos?
• What happens if the sport folds? (Melbourne
  Cup-Fosters, AFL-CUB, F1 GP-many Tobacco
  companies)