media comercialisation and sponsorship a2 2014
TRANSCRIPT
Media Commercialism
Sponsorship
Media We live in a media informed society
A media influenced society And therefore media has influenced sport
Sport is now a marketable commodity that is worth millions
1. Best medium for live events – images 2. Not as handy as radio, newspapers? New
technology changing this? 3. Satellite TV transformed sport – it’s
development was based on sport 4. Sky Sports dominate a range of sports – lead
to Government ring - fencing certain traditional events to be kept on terrestrial TV e.g. Grand National, FA Cup
TV
Pay per view – a system by which the viewer can pay for private
telecast to their home of an event
Used a lot for
boxing
Newspapers
Tabloids (Redtops)
versus broadsheets
Tabloid – •Traditionally working class readership •Tend to sensationalise events and
personalities •Most have sizeable proportion of total
newspaper devoted to sport •Tends to only focus on a few sports (e.g.
Football and racing ) •Minority sports ignored
Broadsheet – Middleclass readership traditionally
Tends to focus on providing information Less space devoted to sport
More sports covered Tend to provide more critical analysis of events and issues affecting sport
Both sell to make a
profit – but adopt
difference strategies to attract readers
Task – compare the amount of coverage given to different
sports by a tabloid newspaper and a broadsheet newspaper for the same day – Tip – use a ruler!
Radio
Good at getting in to the heart of
everyday lives – cars, homes
Talk based radio programmes –
commentary and debate/discussion
shows
Internet
Social Media
Access to TV, radio, newspapers in one place on the go, 24-7 access to
information, chat, debate……..
New tools in an ever developing
technological world
Commercialism 1. TV found sport fairly cheap
entertainment (compared to period dramas or wildlife programmes)
2. lots of entertainment 3. Only a few periods when the actions
slows 4. Can easily be picked up at any point or
dipped in/out of without losing the plot
5. Sport has benefited from technological advances e.g. replays
6. Many, many hours dedicated to sport – more and more new channels
7. Commercialisation of sport has grown
Commercialisation – the treating of sport as a
commodity, involving the buying and selling of
assets, with the market as the driving force behind
sport
Sport realised that there was money to made here – sale of TV rights to highest bidder - become
the major contributor to sports funding - think Premier League!
Merchandising: practice in which the brand or image
from one product is used to sell another. The most
common adult-orientated merchandising is that related to professional sports teams
and players
Televised sport offers business investment
opportunities
Advertising
Endorsement
Also those involved can get income from ticket sales
And merchandising.
The Golden Triangle
1. The media pay sport to gain viewers
to sell satellite packages.
2. The media are used by businesses to
advertise their products.
3. Businesses pay sport for advertising
space.
4. Sport has the potential to gain more
viewers/spectators/participants as a
result of increased media exposure.
Sport
Media Business
Commercialism has changed sport – in order to make a profit for the stakeholders – sports have to
appeal to a wider audience
No longer ex-player amateurs running sport – it is business people
These administrators know that in order for sport to
make money it must have a sponsor
Sponsors only interested if there is good media coverage
Therefore necessary to make the sport attractive to
the media
Characteristics of sport that is attractive to the media
Demonstration of skill, strength
and physical fitness
Well-matched
competition
Demonstration of aggression
and/or physical challenge
Visual spectacle with detail available
Identification of personalities
and/or nationalistic
relevance
Ease of televising e.g. camera can
keep up with play
Fits in to a reasonable timescale
Uncomplicated rule structure
Tradition
Effects of coverage of sport
Some sports have lost popularity due to lack of
coverage (e.g. table tennis)
Others have gained
through lots of promotion
Some NGBs encourage media to concentrate
of more exciting events as money
raised can support other events or grass
roots level development
New events formed as more attractive to
performers e.g. Skiing – slalom – technical skill
lost on TV, Downhill (12 min) – many viewers
thought no skill. Giant Slalom created
Changes that happened due to TV:
•Coloured cricket shirts •White ball in football •Summer rugby league •Change of evening/time
of kick offs in football
International events – timings changed e.g. World Cup – Europe
biggest audiences so kick-offs changed to suite our times no matter where they are in the world In Beijing Olympics – 100m final at 10.3o –
3.30pm in UK, Breakfast in USA
Media also effects individuals
Media wants personalities
The high income is often offset with some loss of privacy
Big issue at moment – Leveson enquiry
Does the media show a true picture
of sport? No Bias from
commentators? Analysis unbiased
Exaggeration of incidents to attract
viewers?
Sport can last a long time and doesn’t always finish
at a set time
Causes problems for schedules TV prefers highlights
programmes
Control times Can turn a boring draw in to a 90sec clip of incidents
and near misses
Arguments for and against TV coverage of sports
FOR • Provides info service e.g. results. Tables, fixtures • Provides entertainments service e.g. excitement, drama and spectacle • Provides educational service e.g. teaching, coaching, debates on issues • Provides an advertising service e.g. sports, goods, business • Aids sponsorship • Creates role models, personalities, heroes • Draws attention to top level sport
Against Limited to a few male sports – impact on participation?
Sensationalises – controversies may be created Highlights personalities rather than the team effort
Possibility of boredom owing to saturation coverage of sport – Oh not football again! Minority sports suffer because of lack of interest
Possible loss of gate money Needs of television dictate the selection of sport action
How to support media
coverage poor sports?
Swimming is primarily a participation sport – relatively few
spectators – little gate money – Olympics the exception!
1. Marketing of minority sports (Cost!)
2. Rule adaption to create more exciting games for spectators – e.g. 20 20
3. Sponsorship deals (hard to get without media coverage)
Why? Discuss.
What would make swimming more TV friendly?
Sponsorship
Companies invest for many reasons:
The sponsor’s name and product is given publicity
Association between product and performer (popularity of
performer key)
Sponsor associated with supporting the community or
country
Sponsorship reduces the amount of tax paid
Governing bodies
Individuals Professional teams
Stadium, Stands
Awards schemes
Coaching schemes
Events
Most aspects of sport have a sponsor
Sponsorship advantages & disadvantages
Advantages:
Sports are expensive to run – extra money allows a more professional
approach
Sport is promoted through extra publicity
Sponsorship helps create atmosphere
at events
Sports are organised better – more efficient management techniques are
use
Disadvantages:
Sport becomes associated with the product – this may not be desirable
Sponsors gain control over organisation of sport
Sponsors gain control over timing, seasons and location events
There is financial interdependence between media and large sporting
events
Sports rely to heavily on sponsors – withdrawal of funds can be disastrous
Team selection may be affected
Fact
ors
to
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der
wh
en
thin
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f sp
on
sori
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• The success of the team or individual
• The popularity of the sport, team or individual
• Media coverage
• Participation levels in sport
• The suitability of the sport for the product
Ethical Aspects of sponsorship
Positive Promotes individuals and teams
Individual sponsorship allows the performer to train longer, facilitates improvement
Allows the development of new competitions and tournaments Allows development of better facilities and equipment
It helps create atmosphere at events Attracts high-class performers
Generates additional media interest Sport can be expensive to run and income from traditional sources is not enough
Negative Attention is on high profile individuals or teams
Product association is an intrusion in to sport Sponsors can gain too much control over a sport
Sponsors can give sport a bad image Sponsors control the timing of events to obtain peak viewing time