Broadcasting of sports events
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (November 2021) |
The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast) is the live coverage of
Origin
The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast) is the live coverage of
History
Perhaps the first sports broadcast was by Guglielmo Marconi, who broadcast the 1899 America's Cup from New York Harbor.[4] The first ever prerecorded sportscast occurred in 1911 in Kansas. The first recording had a group of people recreate plays of a football game, that were trying to learn of a play via telegraph, but wasn't official because no one was present. Ten years later in 1921 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the first radio broadcasting event occurred of a boxing match. Then the first televised sporting event occurred 1939, which was the summer olympics in the United States. In 1951, the first sports color telecast was a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves.[5] As years went by more options were given to the public and the more popular sports broadcasting became. The first voice broadcasters happened, live broadcasting happened, and professional broadcasting happened. More media options became available to the public whether it be on newspapers, radio, or television.[6]
As the number of people tuning in increased, so did the availabilities of where to hear and watch the broadcastings. Sports broadcasting also had an impact to the rise of American citizens being interested in being entertained. As more demand occurred from more sports broadcasters, the programing networks got more advanced with the technology as well.
By country
Canada
Broadcasting of sports started with descriptions of play sent via
In 1933, Hewitt called an
Broadcasting of the Canadian Football League has been a fixture of Canadian television since the CBC's debut in 1952. From 1962 (one year after the debut of CTV) through 2007, there were two separate CFL contracts: one for CBC, and one for CTV (or a sister channel such as cable outlet TSN). Terrestrial television broadcasts of CFL games ended in 2008, when TSN acquired exclusive TV rights to the league.
American sports broadcasts are widely available in Canada, both from Canadian stations and from border blasters in the United States. In order to protect Canadian broadcasters' advertising, broadcast stations can invoke simultaneous substitution: any cable or satellite feed of an American station broadcasting the same program as a Canadian broadcast station must be blacked out and replaced by the Canadian feed. This rule is part of the reason the NFL, which is broadcast on terrestrial television in the United States but has no direct presence in Canada, is also broadcast on terrestrial TV in Canada, while the CFL no longer is (the CFL is broadcast only on cable in the United States); the simultaneous substitution benefits are not extended to cable stations. For the purposes of regional sports broadcasting, the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors both claim all of Canada as their "territory", allowing Blue Jays and Raptors games to be broadcast nationwide.
Ireland
The first live commentary on a field sport anywhere in Europe was when Paddy Mehigan covered the All-Ireland Hurling Semi-Final between Kilkenny and Galway on 29 August 1926. This game is credited with being the first mainly because the BBC was prevented from broadcasting sporting events before 7.00pm as a means of protecting British newspaper sales. Originally there was no sports department for Irish radio. Gaelic Games and live commentary were very popular with Irish radio. One prominent figure was Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin who broadcast for the Gaelic Games and live commentary weekly beginning in 1930. Many sports were covered in Irish broadcasting including Bridge tournaments.[9]
United Kingdom
Radio
The first sports event broadcast on radio in Europe was a Boxing contest for the Flyweight Championship of Great Britain and Europe between Elky Clark of Scotland and Kid Socks of England. relayed from the National Sporting Club in London on 26 February 1926.[10] Further boxing commentaries were broadcast by the BBC on 29 March 1926, a British featherweight title defence by Johnny Curley, and 6 October 1927, when Teddy Baldock lost his claim to the British version of the World bantamweight title to South African Willie Smith.[11]
The first outdoor sports event broadcast in the United Kingdom was a Rugby Union international between England and Wales, broadcast from Twickenham in January 1927. Two weeks later the first broadcast of a football match took place, with the BBC covering Arsenal's league fixture against Sheffield United at Highbury. Listeners to the broadcast could use numbered grids published in the Radio Times in order to ascertain in which area of the pitch (denoted as "squares") the action was taking place due to a second commentator reading out grid references during the match.[12]
The BBC broadcasts almost all major sports events. Initially broadcast as a MW opt-out on BBC Radio 2, The launch of Radio 5 in 1990 saw a huge increase in the level of coverage on BBC Radio. Radio 5 became BBC Radio 5 Live in 1994 and the station, which combines live news and sport, provides round-the-clock coverage of sport through both live commentary and sports news and discussion. Live cricket commentary is broadcast on 5 Live's digital sports channel BBC 5 Sports Extra. This includes cricket coverage which is also aired on the long wave frequencies of BBC Radio 4.
BBC Local Radio provides extensive coverage of sport, giving more exposure to second-tier football clubs which would otherwise receive limited national coverage.
The BBC's main commercial rival is Talksport, but this has not acquired anywhere near as many exclusive contracts as Sky Sports and instead dedicates much of its airtime to sports discussions and phone-ins.
TV
The first sporting event to be televised in the UK was an international boxing tournament between England and Ireland from Alexandra Palace on 4 February 1937.[13]
The United Kingdom saw the first live television broadcast of a football match, with the BBC showing a specially arranged fixture between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserves on 16 September 1937.
The British media is dominated by national outlets, with local media playing a much smaller role. Traditionally the BBC played a dominant role in televising sport, providing extensive high-quality advertisement free coverage and free publicity in exchange for being granted broadcast rights for low fees.
United States
National and local media both serve major roles in broadcasting
Radio broadcasts are extensive. The national leagues each have national network coverage of league high games in addition to local radio coverage originating with each team, with
Internet broadcasts are also common, though college and major professional sports either use a
History
In 1911, more than 1,000 people gathered in downtown
The first voice broadcast of a sporting event took place on 11 April 1921 when Westinghouse station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcast a 10-round, no decision boxing match between Johnny Dundee and Johnny Ray at Pittsburgh's Motor Square Garden. The event was reported by Florent Gibson, the first sports broadcaster.[16]
The first
On 17 May 1939, the United States' first televised sporting event, a college baseball game between the Columbia Lions and Princeton Tigers, was broadcast by NBC from Columbia's Baker Field.[17][18] (The world's first live televised sporting event had been the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[19]) On 30 September 1939, the first American football game, a college contest between Fordham and Waynesburg College was broadcast on television.[20] The first nationwide broadcast of college football, which was also the first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast, was a game between Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh that was televised by NBC on 29 September 1951.[21] The broadcasting of college football games on television in the United States has been a fixture of the major networks on a continuous basis since that time. The NCAA severely restricted broadcasts of college football from the 1950s until a judge ruled that the action was a violation of antitrust rules in 1984, which allowed for a much greater expansion of college football broadcasting.
NBC broadcast the first televised
NBC also broadcast an NHL game in 1940; the league would briefly air games in the 1950s, but due to a dispute over how much of the rights fee money the players would receive (and difficulties programming around the two Canadian teams in the league
The first-ever television broadcast of a basketball game occurred on 28 February 1940 when the University of Pittsburgh defeated
Outside of the networks, the only other source for national sports television was through early syndication networks. Sports Network Incorporated (SNI), later renamed the Hughes Television Network, carried Cleveland Browns (NFL) games in the 1950s and NHL games in the late 1970s, after the NHL lost its contract with NBC. TVS Television Network helped popularize the broadcasts of college basketball and also gave an outlet to the short-lived World Football League. Mizlou Television Network earned a reputation for carrying a large number of college football bowl games in an era when televised college football was highly restricted. Modern syndication networks still exist for sporting events, such as Raycom Sports and American Sports Network, both of which specialize in college sports.
The debut of ESPN in 1979 revolutionized the broadcasting of sports events. Within several years of ESPN's founding as a basic cable channel, it had developed a stable of sports broadcasts ranging from major leagues to oddities. ESPN has since grown into a massive multiplexed network, with several channels and a large news bureau that has led to the network bestowing the title of "Worldwide Leader in Sports" upon itself. Cable, and later digital cable and satellite, greatly expanded the number of channels (and, by extension, the room for broadcasting sports events) available on a given set, and also gave channels such as ESPN the ability to broadcast direct and nationwide, as opposed to dealing with local affiliates. Syndication networks gave way to regional sports networks, which carried broadcasts of local sports on a far greater scale than full-service broadcast stations could provide at the time; these combined with out-of-market sports packages (which debuted in the 1990s) allowed the carriage of these networks' sporting events across the country. However, with the increased availability of sports to broadcast came increasing rights fees, which could be recovered by the newly authorized practice of collecting retransmission consent fees from cable subscribers, which has led to numerous disputes and the dropping of channels from cable lineups. Individual leagues began launching their own networks in the 2000s; specialty networks of other sports have had varying levels of success.
One of the first live high-definition sports broadcasts in the U.S. took place in September 1998 in which a football game between
The Internet has also allowed greater broadcasting of sports events, both in video and audio forms and through free and subscription channels. With an Internet broadcast, even a locally broadcast high school football game can be heard worldwide on any device with an audio output and an Internet connection. Individual leagues (including major ones) all have subscription services that allow subscribers to watch their sporting events for a fee.
One of the first live sporting events in the U.S. to be streamed was the Ohio State spring football game in 2001 by WBNS-TV. The game was delivered on RealVideo, a compressed video format, on the RealPlayer media player platform on the station's website. It also was distributed to Windows Mobile mobile devices using the Windows Media Player format, including Compaq's IPAQ personal digital assistant which required an ExpressCard to connect to the Internet.
Broadcasting rights and contracts
Broadcasting rights and contracts limit who can show footage of the event.
In the
In the
Events that have been described as "the most watched" per various definitions include the FIFA World Cup, Summer Olympic Games, Cricket World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Tour de France, Rugby World Cup (rugby union), Indian Premier League, Super Bowl, and the FIA Formula One World Championship.
TV Rights of the UEFA Champions League, per country. Season 2009-2010, according to FootBiz.[25]
- United Kingdom: €179 million
- Italy: €98 million
- Spain: €91 million
- Germany: €85 million
- France: €52 million
- Croatia: €28 million
- Poland: €8.1 million
- North America: €3.5 million
- Belgium: €2.9 million
- India: €2.9 million
- Australia: €2.9 million
- Ireland: €2 million
Anti-siphoning laws
In some countries, broadcast regulations referred to as "anti-siphoning laws" exist in order to ensure that coverage of major sporting events of national importance—often covering major events such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and national team events in culturally-significant sports—are available on free-to-air, terrestrial television, rather than exclusively on pay television. Some larger events (particularly the Olympics) may be covered under rules allowing a portion of the event to be televised by a pay TV partner if a specific minimum of coverage is broadcast free-to-air, or if an extended highlights package is available on a delay to a free-to-air broadcaster.
In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission attempted to introduce similar restrictions on cable broadcasts of specific sporting events and recent films as to not cannibalize broadcast TV. In 1977, these restrictions were deemed to be invalid when a federal district court ruled that the FCC did not have the authority to make such decisions in a consolidated case, also noting that the constitutional basis for such a law had not been proven.[26] No such laws have been passed since. Since then, sports have been a lucrative source of revenue in the U.S. pay television industry, including mainstream networks such as ESPN, as well as channels devoted to specific sports, leagues, and college sports conferences. These networks receive revenue from both advertising and carriage fees charged to television providers (and passed onto consumers as part of the cost of service), and can provide an outlet for expanded coverage of "niche" events with dedicated audiences.[27]
By the mid-2000s and early 2010s, most major U.S. sports leagues (barring the National Football League, which has historically stipulated that all games be shown on terrestrial television in at least the markets of the teams involved) had begun to steadily decrease their presence on broadcast television, and allow more of their content (including post-season coverage in many cases) to air on cable networks, and more recently, digital-only outlets. The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and national championship games in college football have also largely moved to cable (since 2016, the semi-finals of the former only air on broadcast television in odd-numbered years).[28][29][30] A similar phenomenon has taken root in much of Canadian sport, where the Canadian Football League left broadcast television in 2008.[31] The National Hockey League survives on Canadian broadcast television because Rogers Sportsnet, the cable broadcaster that acquired exclusive rights to the league in 2014, offers two weekly games to CBC Television for free to allow the network to continue the long-running Hockey Night in Canada.[32]
Dedicated sports channels
Team-owned channels
Several sports teams in the United States have their own channels, or own shares in other sports networks. For example, the
The Longhorn Network, in which ESPN owns a stake, is even more specialized, designed as an outlet for the athletic program of the University of Texas at Austin (although it has also aired football games of the UT system's San Antonio campus).
Team-owned channels are also common in Europe, most notably
See also
References
- ^ "Sports broadcasters and announcers". firsthand.co. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Udemy, ed. (16 February 2020). "Sports Broadcasting: Sports in the Media". Udemy Blog. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Powers, Sarah (16 April 2022). "What does a Sports Broadcaster do How to Become a Sports Broadcaster". Career Test: Free Tests & Quiz for Students and Adults. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Nick Paumgarten (30 August 2004). "The boys: what Mike and the Mad Dog talk about when they talk about sports". The New Yorker.
- ^ Keohan, Matt (26 October 2021). "The Evolution Of Sports Broadcasting, From Radio To Streaming: A Testament To Human Ingenuity". BroBible. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Schools, M&S Media (2 May 2022). "The History of Sports Broadcasting". Be On Air. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Mr. Kitchen, p.246
- ^ Hewitt, p. 25
- ^ "The Early Years of Broadcasting". rte.ie.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index".
- ^ "BBC Programme Index".
- ^ "GGM 40: Highbury stages first live broadcast". Arsenal.com. 2 August 2007. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index".
- ^ "100 years ago: Football fans enjoy mechanized reproduction of KU-MU game". Lawrence Journal-World. 27 November 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ "First Play-By-Play Football Broadcast". W5AC. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "radio - Juvenile action and adventure series | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "SPORTS AND TELEVISION". Museum of Broadcast Communications. 2008. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
- ^ Koppett, Leonard (Spring 1999). "Baker Field: Birthplace of Sports Television". Columbia College Today. Columbia University. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
- ^ "1936 German Olympics". Television History. 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ^ "Sports Knowhow". Sports Knowhow. 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-7360-8167-2. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- ^ "American Sportscasters Online: Sportscasting firsts". American Sportscasters Association. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- ^ NHK: Profile
- ^ "Football deal ends BSkyB monopoly". BBC News. 17 November 2005. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "Droits télé de la Champions League: la France à la traîne" (in French). FootBiz. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "Home Box Office, Inc., Petitioner, v. Federal Communications Commission and United States Of America, Respondents,professional Baseball et al., Intervenors, 567 F.2d 9 (D.C. Cir. 1977)". Justia Law. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ James, Meg (5 December 2016). "The rise of sports TV costs and why your cable bill keeps going up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ "As sports shift from broadcast to cable, digital may be next frontier". Sporting News. 31 March 2015. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ "Major sporting events are becoming even more dispersed across television". Awful Announcing. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ Thompson, Derek. "If You Don't Watch Sports, TV Is a Huge Rip-Off (So, How Do We Fix It?)". The Atlantic. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ Penton, Kirk (28 May 2015). "CFL extends TV deal with TSN/RDS another three years". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "CBC business presentation on Rogers deal" (PDF). CBC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
Bibliography
- Hewitt, Foster (1967). Foster Hewitt, his own story. Ryerson Press.
- Kitchen, Paul (2008). Win, Tie or Wrangle: The Inside Story of the Old Ottawa Senators - 1883–1935. Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press. ISBN 978-1-897323-46-5.