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Jordan White

Mrs. DeBock

English 4 Honors

09 March 2017

Technology Affecting Sports Broadcasting

When looking at sports broadcasting, it is plain to see that technology is the foundation of

the entire industry. Technology is the reason that any information relating to sports, its people,

and its news can ever reach the public. Although, in recent years, the available and still

developing technology has broken the boundaries of sports telecast, making it a larger field than

anyone could have ever imagined. People can now access sports from anywhere at anytime.

Thanks to new technological advancements, telecasts can be displayed on many different

platforms, putting sports at virtually anyones disposal. Technology is having this large effect on

the industry of sports broadcasting through social media, cable TV, and music and radio

broadcasting networks.

One of the largest new aspects technology has brought into sports broadcasting is social

media. Through multiple platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, sports players and teams have

been able to increase sales and popularity dramatically. Social media has taken on such an

important role in sports retail that it has attracted the attention of many statisticians and research

analysts (Lee and Kahle 1). Before multi-media, the only ways that people got information on

sports was through TV and the newspaper. Now, the world is at everyones fingertips. People can

access information whenever and wherever, on their phones, tablets, and computers. Although,

social media has proven to be ineffective in some ways too. This all depends on how a sports

team or athlete decides to use the platform. Studies done by West Virginia Universitys Lee and
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Kahle show that the feedback from tweets or posts all depends on linguistics. This means that

people respond differently to how a post is worded. For example, if a professional sports team

were to tweet and use minimal vocabulary, with no inspiring message, picture or video, it most

likely will receive few likes or reposts. In contrast, if a rival team were to post an inspiring

message with a thirty second clip featuring four popular team members in it, the post would most

likely get an abundance of likes and reposts. The publics reaction all depends on how a post is

structured and what it has to say. In addition to this, social media is also helping in the

relationship marketing aspect of sports. This includes how connected the fans feel to their

favorite players and teams. Shown in Witkemper, Lim, and Waldburgers study at West Virginia

University, opportunities for fans to interact and communicate are vital in ensuring the success

of a fan-team relationship (10). When these relationships are strong, sports marketing successes

skyrocket. Sports enthusiasts feel as if they are a part of the team, with inside scoop directly from

the source. With this, they are more likely to buy merchandise such as shirts and hats, and also

more likely to buy tickets to sporting events. In this way, social media is heavily impacting the

economic side of the sports world. Looking at a different aspect of social medias impact, it is

heavily affecting the broadcasters themselves. They are having to keep up with the quickly

changing media, learning not only how to navigate multiple apps of media, but also how to

effectively use them and be productive in getting the news out. Tanzer of TVBEurope talks about

how broadcasters around the world are going to have to learn how to supply information in an

efficient manner over as many social media platforms as possible (1). This will ensure that they

are being effective in their job as mediators between fans and the news. Not only is social media

changing how broadcasters have to operate, but it is also changing who these broadcasters are.

Thanks to new ideas on social media, women have become an integral part of sports marketing
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and broadcasting. Before other branches of media, television broadcasts seldom mentioned

womens sports, let alone having women as the actual broadcasters. Although, in recent years,

women have stepped out of the limelight of mens sports. Due to the popularity of social

media some of the issues womens sports face from a lack of traditional broadcast coverage

are being addressed (Vann 1). Many female athletes have started speaking up about the

inequalities of coverage time between men and women, and it has made a large impact on

womens sports. All around the world, these athletes are inspiring young girls to grow up and

play hard because they are just as important as men. This message has easily spread to millions

world wide, all because of social media. Without the multiple platforms of news, it would have

been difficult for these ideals to be spread. So, when looking at sport franchises, team economics,

and the change in make up of broadcasters and the information they are broadcasting, social

media has made a pivotal mark.

At the basis of sports broadcasting is cable TV. Being available nationwide in the 1950s,

cable has made a lasting impact on the lives of Americans and those world wide. Specifically, it

has made sports broadcasting the international phenomenon that it is. Through not only local

sports, but college and professional sports, cable television programs stream sports in some form

all day, every day. Over the years, cable TV has gained millions of loyal customers because of

this. This has become especially true in the last decade, due to sports packages offered by cable

companies. New technologies have enabled companies to create all-experience sports packages,

that for a fixed monthly or annual rate, buyers can invest in. These packages come with certain

channels that the buyer can access whenever they please. These people can purchase something

like an NFL package, where they can get any game all season, or they get a PGA package where

they can access any tournament played anywhere in the world. Due to new and enhanced
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technologies like this, programming around sports on TV has grown exponentially in the last ten

years (Miller 1). More options make consumers feel liberated, therefore causing them to buy

often and as much as they please. It also causes many to initially invest in cable TV, causing

cable rates to abruptly rise (Miller 3). Through this, coverage percentages for different

cablevision networks steadily increase, as do the amount of households that they are available in.

Different tiers of content that are available to users have also come from new and advanced

technologies. These tiers make different packages and channels available in any corner of the

world. This availability creates prices that are feasible for both the consumer and the producers.

The price, value, and customer satisfaction are what is seen as most important to comcast

companies, and due to new technologies, satisfaction rates are increasing more than ever

imagined possible (Miller 3). With this, it is seen that due to increasing technological

advancements, cable TV has been able to increase the span of sports broadcasting, making it an

immensely growing industry.

A final way that technology is having a lasting impact on sports broadcasting is through

the use of music and radio broadcasting networks. When looking at the radio aspect, sports have

greatly expanded due to the streaming of news all around the world. In the mid to late 20th

century, the sports radio industry was one of the smaller broadcasts available on the radio.

Although, towards the end of the 1990s into the 21st century, sports radio began to take off.

Newer technologies that allowed for more information, effects, and air time coupled with

increased demand spawned a new era for sports. From what was one or possibly no sports radio

stations in a metropolitan area, there began to be three or four that streamed sports all day, every

day (Miller 1). This has become a major outlet for sports broadcasting. Radio takes people away

from the TV and the phone screen and travels with them all the time. Whether people are at
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work, driving long distance, or just working around the house, radio can be played with constant

sports updates. With this, merchandise companies for certain teams and other money making

outlets can stream advertisements, which leads to the industry of sports making more money.

Sports radio stations have been able to help increase sales by over 10% in the last decade, simply

due to commercials in between media sets (Miller 16). Due to there being many listeners, sales

increase, as do amont of listeners, all in credit to increased technology allowing constant

streaming. The other audible technology that heavily impacts sports broadcasting is the music

that goes behind studio recordings, news entrance reels, and many other video components. With

the combination of quality information and inspiring music, people tend to have a more positive

response to the telecast. Music has the ability to set the tone of a stream, which tends to

heavily impact the audience (Barker 1). Upbeat, hard hitting notes or smooth, low toned sounds

can set the scene for the information that is going to or is being presented. This technology of

being able to overlap broadcasters talking with music has increased viewers interest, which in

turn is a positive relationship for sports broadcasting. In all, increasing sports radio and music

overlays have increasingly affected sports broadcasting, thanks to new and developing

technology.

Technology has been able to transform the entire industry of sports broadcasting just in

the past few decades through social media, cable TV, and music and radio broadcasting

networks. Due to recent advancements, sports broadcasters can transmit news through different

outlets to people all around the world. This means that anyone, anywhere can reach sports at any

time. These developments have made the sports broadcasting industry larger than ever before,

and helps continue to growing it today. With these current and changing aspects, sports

broadcasting has no boundaries as to where it might expand next.

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Works Cited

Barker, Andrew, et al. "Sports & Entertainment Impact Report." Variety, no. 15, 2016, p. 52.

EBSCOhost. 21 February 2017.

Lee, Christopher and Lynn Kahle. "The Linguistics of Social Media: Communication of

Emotions and Values in Sport." Sport Marketing Quarterly, vol. 25, n'o. 4, Dec. 2016, p.

201. EBSCOhost. 22 February 2017.

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Miller, Richard K. and Kelli Washington. "Chapter 15: Sports Television Broadcasting." Sports

Marketing, Richard K. Miller & Associates, Mar. 2009, pp. 78-85. EBSCOhost. 22

February 2017.

Miller, Richard K. and Kelli Washington. "Chapter 17: Sports Radio." Sports Marketing,

2014/2015, pp. 112-128. EBSCOhost. 07 March 2017.

Tanzer, Mylan. "The Future Challenges of Sports Broadcasting." TVBEurope, Dec. 2012, p. 42.

EBSCOhost. 21 February 2017.

Vann, Portia. "Changing the Game: The Role of Social Media in Overcoming Old Media's

Attention Deficit toward Women's Sport." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media,

vol. 58, no. 3, Sept. 2014, pp. 438-455. EBSCOhost. 22 February 2017.

Witkemper, Chad, et al. "Social Media and Sports Marketing: Examining the Motivations and

Constraints of Twitter Users." Sport Marketing Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 3, Sept. 2012, pp.

170-183. EBSCOhost. 22 February 2017.