Sport and media
A defining relationship
Sport
Definition - three core dimensions
(Guttmann, 1978)
– Physical
– Competitive
– Structured and rule bound
Mediated sport is almost exclusively
highly structured, highly
competitive and very physical
Sport typology
Spontaneous sport
– ‘Pick-up’ sport that occurs
by chances
Recreational sport
– Extreme sport activities as
well as informal exercise
Exercise sport
– Occurs in formalized
settings (aerobics & gym)
Sport typology
Competitive sport
– Competitions below the elite level,
receives media coverage
Elite sport
– The major player in the sport media
nexus, comprising professional and
semi-professional competitions and
major events
Elite and competitive sport levels
Global events (Olympic games)
Global circuits (Formula one, tennis, golf)
Regional leagues (European Champions
League)
National leagues (NFL, NBA)
Regional and state leagues and
competitions
Local community sport – clubs,
associations and schools
The sport media nexus
Sport Media Nexus I
– Two equal partners and the nexus is
the point at which they intersect
– Not all of sport is part of the nexus Medi
a
Sport
Sport Media Nexus II
– Elite and professional sport is Media
enveloped by the media Sport
– Media sport – the product
would not exist without the nexus
Discussion
– 你們對於上述菁英 / 職業運動媒體關係的看法 ?
The ‘Golden Triangle’
Sport
Media Sponsorship
Modern Sport has been referred to as ‘The Golden
Triangle’ (Hargreaves, 1986)
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
– Television has been a key factor in the
growth and expansion of commercial
sports
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
Sport media saturation
Massive audiences
Sport presented across all media forms
Sport and media
– Defining commercial and cultural connection
– The media has transformed sport from an
amateur pursuit into a hyper-commercialized
industry
– Continuing intensified relationship
Sport media saturation
Creation of new words
– 1980s & 1990s
The sport/media complex
The media/sport production
– Late 1990s
MediaSport
Nagoya women’s marathon
Since 1980
The world’s largest
women’s marathon
Marathon EXPO (Vantelin
Dome Nagoya)
20,000 participants
(3500 international
runners from 32
countries) in 2024
Marathon EXPO
Vantelin Dome Nagoya
Nagoya women’s marathon
Nagoya women’s marathon
All finishers of the Nagoya
Women’s Marathon are
congratulated by Tiffany &
Co., a global luxury jeweler,
with a pendant exclusively
designed every year.
Since 2012
https://www.international.tiffany.com/stories/guide/sp
orting-trophies/running-trophies
/
Discussion
以名古屋女子馬拉松為例，討論運動、媒體、和贊助商三者
之間的互利關係
Nagoya
Womens’
Marathon
Media Sponsorship
Trends in Televised Sports
Rights fees have escalated rapidly
since the 1960s
Sports programming has increased
dramatically
Television companies use sports
events to promote other
programming
Television companies increasingly
own teams and events
Managing the nexus
Demand for sport management
training
– Human resource, financial and event
management
– Player management
– Media management
Professional sport in particular would
cease to exist in its current form without
the media
• Broadcast rights fees
• Commercial sponsorship
OLYMPIC BROADCAST
REVENUE GENERATION
Source: IOC, 2019 Source: IOC, 2022
https://olympics.com/ioc/funding
https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Documents/IOC-
Marketing-and-Broadcasting-General-Files/Olympic-Marketing-Fact-File-2019.pdf
OLYMPIC BROADCAST
REVENUE
Source: IOC, 2024
https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/International-
Olympic-Committee/IOC-Marketing-And-Broadcasting/IOC-
Marketing-Fact-File.pdf
What is driving the sport media
nexus?
Technology
Commercialization
Convergence
– Increasing cross-media ownership
– Increasing national and global
domination of large media organizations
What is driving the sport media
nexus?
Globalization
– Technological change,
commercialization and convergence as
drivers that have all led to the
increasing globalization of media and
sport
Globalization sport media
nexus
Discussion
隨著數位化與新媒體 OTT 等串流平台興起，有線電視訂閱率逐年下
降，媒體趨向多元化、分眾化，討論新媒體對運動媒體關係之影響 ?
