SPORT, COMMERCIALISM

AND THE MASS MEDIA

Lecture 7
Coakley Chps 11 & 12
 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
1. Most prevalent in market economies where material
rewards are high
2. Usually exist in densely populated cities for large
spectator base
3. Require people in a society to have time, money
transportation and availability to media outlets (print and
electronic)

4. Commercial sports require large amounts of capital to

build and maintain stadiums and arenas (therefore naming
rights are important for $)

5. 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)
 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
 However, why does women’s 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)
 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 John’s-Subiaco oval furore, Glenelg Oval?)
 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
 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
 The Media Provide

 Information
 Interpretation
 Entertainment
 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)
 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)
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)
 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)
 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)
 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)