“Sports Journalism….Pressure of Globalization and the Sports Economy” [ Atlantis Ballroom]
Thursday, 13 May 2010 02:15 PM – 03:30 PM
Sports, in particular soccer, remain the most globalized human activity that attracts millions of fans from around the world. Avid sports enthusiasts are either drawn to the sport itself, the clubs and teams or the players. Some countries such as Spain and Italy have even shifted the timings of soccer matches to better suit the time zones of China and East Asia. The cost of broadcasting rights of European and other global tournaments have broken records.
The reality is that sport is no longer a stand-alone activity and the demarcation line between sports and the economy has increasingly blurred over the years. Sports continue to offer a reliable form of returns for businesses and the overall economy, and athletes have chosen to engage themselves in lucrative investments linked to their career. As a result, viewers and fans of these players have almost become the”clients” of these investment companies.
Developments such as these have impacted sports journalism, the media and sports television channels. Broadcasting matches on television for free have become nearly extinct and pay channels are increasingly the order of the day. Today, the primary concern for sports channels is to vie for local and regional broadcasting rights.
This session aims to explore the influence of sports and its economy, the local presence in sports journalism in general and in television in particular.
Topics:
- How does the economics of sports affect sports journalism?
- How can national interests of a sports channel make up for the loss of transmission rights for global/regional sporting events?
- The influence of companies that buy the broadcasting rights have increased. Will this affect the size of the open or free broadcast sector as against the pay channel market?
Moderator:
Speakers:
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