Sport and the Mass Media

• Functions of the media

  • Advertise
  • Educate
  • Entertain
  • Inform
  • Interpret
• Types of media

  • Television
  • Radio
  • Press
  • Films
  • Internet
  • Social Media
• Golden Triangle

  Sport, Sponsorship and Sport/Athlete/Event
• Sponsorship, definition

  Agreement between a company and an event/athlete where the company gives money/equipment in exchange for rights to associate the company name with the product
• Advantages of Sponsorships

  • More money
  • More competitions
  • Improve performance
  • Improve facilities
  • Improve technology
  • Increase participation
  • Raising sport of an individual
• Disadvantages of Sponsorships

  • Increase pressure on athletes, lead to deviance behaviour
  • Lack of control of self
  • Lack of privacy
  • Risk of injury - positive deviance
  • Conflict of views/values
  • Personal appearances
  • Contractual obligations, athlete has no choice but to take part
• Advantages of media on sport

  • Create role models
  • Raise profile of sport and individual players
  • increase revenue
  • develop spectator insight
  • change event structure or schedule
  • Social media platform
• Disadvantages on media in sport

  • Encourage spectating not participation
  • Lose traditional values
  • Negatively promote news stories
  • Cover inappropriate behaviour
  • creation of negative role models, increase aggression
  • Increase pressure on officials decisions
  • lead to sensationalism
  • newspapers are dominated by male sports
  • saturation -> to much coverage
  • Focus on media instead of sport
• Positives of social media

  • Promote political views e.g. Marcus Rashford
  • Athletes use it for commercial reasons
  • Easy to promote sponsors
  • Give live updates to viewers
  • Increase participation
  • Use it to gain attention to move clubs
• Negatives of social media to sport

  • Takes athlete's away from day job
  • Increase 'armchair' fans
  • Can lead to hate crimes e.g. racial abuse
  • Damage athlete's mental health
  • Fans may go to negative deviance due to pressure
  • Intrude on personal lives
  • Increase pressure on referee's
  • Lapses in professionalism are available for all to see