Chapter 8 Electronic and Visual Sport Communication

1. Chapter 8Electronic and Visual Sport Communication Lecture 9 {Date}

2. Learning Objectives Learn about diverse types of electronic media and their coverage of sport Become aware of pioneers and media practitioners in sport and consider the growth of technology through radio, television, cable, and emerging technologies and their impact Understand the progression and changes in sport journalistic content Recognize advertising’s role in the development of sport media Consider media challenges and opportunities for reinvention and growth in sport communication

3. Journalism and political science major, University of Nebraska Football fan; skied competitively and played club tennis Worked for Associated Press, San Francisco Examiner, Stars & Stripes, SI, ESPN Used the interviewing, reporting, and writing skills from her experiences as a print journalist in her current job at ESPN “Learn to do everything. Intern, intern, intern.” Meet people and attend sporting events For those interested in broadcast journalism, hire a voice coach to work on inflection and watch tapes Profile of a Sport Communicator: Shelley Smith

4. The media’s attention to sport Vital in sport’s popularity and development Influential in sport’s social impact Electronic media Transformed events to intimate experiences Introduced sport to fans and sustained passion through vivid pictures, provocative commentary, and stories A profound impact on sport communication Sparking and satiating fans’ desire for sports knowledge and trivia Showcasing live sport Uniting fans through common communicative experience Introduction

5. SSCM: Electronic and Visual Communication

6. Radio The first electronic medium Powerful and immediate effect Directly affects every element of our lives First broadcast on November 2, 1920 Pittsburgh’s KDKA Pioneer Broadcasting Station Jack Dempsey–Georges Carpentier boxing bout of 1921 By the beginning of 1922,30 stations broadcast their music and messages to 60,000 receivers in America Experiencing Sport Through Radio

7. Sport important for radio networks in 1920s and ’30s:Listeners wanted to hear about boxing bouts, their favorite horses and teams Grantland Ricemade his radio debut broadcasting the 1922 World Series Golden age of radio Began in the 1930s When the medium reached maturity as more listeners tunedin for entertainment, information on news, sports, and politics Radio Has appealed to individuals for different reasons Added sound to listeners’ experiences while using words as primary means for communicating messages History of Radio and Sport

8. In 1988 there were no stations; 470 today Sports Byline USA (1988) ESPN Radio (1992) One-on-One Sports Network (1993) Sports radio caters to the much-coveted male demographic Targeted audience consists of different interests Sports nuts who thrive on scores, trades, suspensions, and playoffs Fans who are interested in just one particular sport People who like sports but are not devoted faithfully or fanatically to any particular team or sporting event In 1994 Nanci Donnellan, first female host of a national sports talk radio show Emergence of All-SportRadio Format

9. RCA founder set up boxing bout to promote radio on July 2, 1921 For 30 years, radio was stable and solid TV took advertising revenue away from radio in the 1950s; radio adapted by seeking the local fan (high school, college) Two benefits of radio are its low costs and simple technology:High-definition (HD) and satellite radio, local audiences, and an emphasis on sports talk radio all have enabled the medium to thrive Often radio is used by fans to supplement other media Radio’s power lies in its intimacy and prevalence in culture Upward of 250 million people listen to radio daily in the U.S. 4 million are satellite (e.g., Sirius, XM) radio subscribers Radio’s Popularity

10. All stations contain management and administrative departments:Owners, general managers, office managers, sales managers, accounting managers, engineers, operations directors, promotions directors, program directors, producers Size of departments varies, but the roles remain the same Sport radio builds its audience on the strength of its personalities Sport radio programming:Play-by-play, sports news and information, interviews and telephone talk, sportswriters’ commentary, fitness shows, memorabilia programs, fantasy football nights, handicapping Play-by-play announcersoften start in radio because every local radio station covers sports Careers in Sport Radio

11. Experiencing Sport Through Television • Television • The most powerful and significant of all media • “Television’s love affair with sports, especially major professional sports and college football and basketball, was the most important factor in creating a sports-oriented American society” (Garrison & Sabljak, 1993, p. 235) • Although many believe that the media transformed sport, sport definitely has transformed the media as well

12. Take all the classes you can in sport, writing, and reporting Obtain an internship; gain practical experience Be persistent and curious Don’t be afraid to ask for help Be willing to go to great lengths for story Ask good questions Develop a network of sources Take voice lessons Always seek self-improvement Delve into social issues, politics, and other provocative topics Be willing to work all the time Find out things no one else knows Remember that key quotes can come as someone is walking away Go with your gut instinct on stories Build drama through your words and visuals Learn to do everything to maximize your marketability Becoming a Successful Radio orTelevision Sports Reporter

13. Late 1940s: Broadcasters used sport to increase demand for TV 1939: 1st televised sports event-college baseball 1944: NBC’s Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, 1st network sports broadcast 1945: NBC broadcast the first college football game 1950s: TV programming moved to weekends 1960s: Audience increased as advertisers valued sport 1961: Wide World of Sports debuted 1963: Army vs. Navy football game featured instant replay 1970: Arledge, Rozelle brought Monday Night Football to prime time 1973: ABC’s broadcast of the Battle of the Sexes 1976: ABC paid $25M to broadcast the Montreal Olympics History of TV and Sport

14. ESPN Changed sport, and SportsCenter arose as a cultural phenomenon Best-known TV sports franchise in the world Mixes sport and entertainment Founder Bill Rasmussen First president Chet Simmon ESPN now no longer just offers the major leagues and NCAA sport but also original series, films, reality shows, and even game shows ESPN’s shows continue to expand and evolve:Network continues to grow and offers cross-platform buying for advertisers with varied networks and programming options Emergence of ESPN

15. Networks recognized importance of sports in ratings in 1980s The 3 networks broadcast 1,500 hours of sports in 1985 For the first time, sport was part of promotional effort for the entire network. 1989: CBS paid $1B for rights to NCAA basketball tournament for 7 years 1989: MLB received $500M from television and radio for one season 1990: NBC paid $150M per year for 4 years of NBA broadcasts CBS carried the rights for MLB for four seasons at a price of $1B ESPN paid $400M for rights to 175 games and Sunday night games that same period Networks pay this… To keep sporting events away from their competition To solidify and differentiate their network from others Mutually Beneficial Relationship of Sport and Television

16. 1993: Fox gained NFL rights:Paid $1.58B for 4 years; used football to gain exposure for upstart network Late 1990s, the networks paid $17.6B to cover NFL games 2005: Monday Night Football on cable (ESPN) Ex-ABC and ESPN veteran Steve Bornstein heads NFL Network Cable channel launched in 2003 Seen in 35 million households Although the NFL can threaten to broadcast games exclusively on its own network, it has not used this bargaining power NFL has used satellite operator DirecTV and its distribution rights:DirecTV has a $700M-a-year contract for the Sunday Ticket broadcasts of games through the 2010 season TV and Football

17. Olympic Games rivals the NFL in prestige and power 1984: ABC paid $225M for LA Summer Games 1992: $610M in rights fees for Barcelona Olympics NBC paid $2B to win the rights to the 2010 and 2012 Games 2004 Athens Games More TV coverage than the previous five Summer Olympics combined NBC televised 1,210 hours on NBC, USA, Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC, and Telemundo Olympic profits NBC earned $70M on the Athens Games NBC netted $75 million for the Salt Lake City Winter Games TV and the Olympic Games

18. TV changed sport journalism and improved, expanded content TV provides pictures, so writers include more opinion pieces and in-depth reporting Sport journalists… Now focus more on the “why” of events More on feature and investigative coverage over typical game stories Create new angles to compete with nonstop sports coverage Have more competition and more time pressure Photographs TV brings live pictures and images Magazines (ESPN the Magazine, SI)capture still shots portraying unique moments TV’s Effect on Sport Journalism

19. Career Opportunities in TV • Internships are vital • Homers are reporters who are sympathetic to local teams, athletes, and fans • Critical sport journalist is quite harsh in stirring up emotion • With first-person reporting, the journalist enters the story, which is considered participatory sport journalism • Social commentary reporting • It’s best to learn all techniques to increase marketability • A voice coach is a good investment • Anchoring and play-by-play are other options for on-air talent • In TV production as in radio, the crew takes care of every part of the broadcast

20. Recognizing Influence of Cable Television • Sport • Has no boundaries in today’s technologically advanced society • Is a 24-7 passion • In the United States • 200M are sports fans • 170M have cellular phones • 15M play fantasy sport games • $24.5B spent annually on video games • 2.7B hours were logged at sports Web sites in one month • Average American consumes 8+ hours of media daily: Sports fans log more than 9 hours • Cable has existed for more than 30 years

21. Cable TV began in the 1940s Growth and acceptance came in the 1970s 1972: HBO was the first premium channel By 1980: CNN and ESPN 1987: 50%+ of American houses had cable Mid-1990s: More specialized content 2000: Cable reached 66M homes Often professional wrestling events are some of the highest-rated shows on cable History of Cable and Sport

22. Comcast: 21.5M cable subscribers in U.S. ($20B in revenue):Outdoor Life Network, Comcast SportsNet, 76ers, Flyers, Wachovia Center WTBS: First superstation on cable (Braves coverage) Fox Cable: Part of News Corporation ($20.5B in revenue in 2004) Walt Disney Co.: $30.8B in revenue:ESPN Networks, ABC Time Warner: $42.1B in revenue:Turner, AOL, Time Warner Cable, Time Inc. NBC Universal: $12.8B worldwide:GE, NBC, USA Net., Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC Proliferation of sport on more networks and outlets offers many choices ESPN still covers more sports programming than any other network:Pioneer in sports programming and offered more than 51,000 hours Growth of Cable TV and Diversity of Programming

23. Organizations are updating and expanding content through traditional and new ways Technology enables fans to supplement television and cable viewing with in-depth and real-time scores and analysis Fans expect and crave content, and technology works together to satiate this need Internet enables fans to… Interact with other fans, players, coaches, and media Purchase merchandise Participate in fantasy leagues NASCAR has tapped into new technology Most races require more than 25 HD cameras Challenges come with maximizing innovations:HDTV presents challenges in the technical and financial arenas for networks Expansion of Content Through Cable

24. Films showcase sport’s emotion, pictures, competition Edison produced actualities (boxing bouts) before 20th century Networks like HBO often focus on the sport film genre:Delve into social and cultural significance of events and athletes Documentarians Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports Innovator in documentaries and storytelling When It Was a Game, Fists of Freedom Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel, 61* Bud Greenspan, Olympic filmmaker Fox Sports Net: Beyond the Glory ESPN’s SportsCentury and Outside the Lines Tennis Channel’s No Strings and Net Films Sports movies often among top-grossing films each year Showcasing Sport Through Films

25. Who are key pioneers in electronic media and sport? How do electronic media outlets and their coverage of sport differ from print journalism? How did radio, TV, cable, and technologies expand and improve on previous electronic media outlets’ coverage of sport? Who are some of your favorite sports reporters and announcers? What makes their style and techniques effective? Do you prefer ESPN’s coverage of MNF over ABC’s past coverage? Why do you think ESPN is such a successful network? Discuss several sports films. What do you like or dislike about them? What do you think are the most demanding jobs in sport communication? Where do you get most of your sports news? Why do you prefer a certain media outlet over another one? How has sport journalism changed (content, style, coverage) over the years? Discussion Questions