What is the Sport–Media Complex?
The mutually beneficial relationship where media shapes sport and sport provides valuable content for media.
Give two ways media has influenced sport.
Shaped rules, presentation, schedules; increased global audience; driven commercialisation.
Give two ways sport has influenced media.
Provides compelling live content; drives subscriptions and advertising revenue.
What does producing ‘spectacle’ mean in sport media?
Making events appear more exciting to retain audiences – ‘That’s showbiz’ (Goldlust, 1987).
What is semiotics?
The science of signs – study of how meaning is created and communicated.
What is a sign in semiotics?
A combination of the signifier (form) and signified (concept).
What does ‘signification’ mean?
The social process of making meaning.
List the 10 characteristics of signs.
- Anything can communicate
- Arbitrary relationship
- Not universal
- Signified may not exist
- Change over time
- Ambiguous
- Embedded
- Subliminal
- Economic
- Contested terrain.
Why is the relationship between signifier and signified arbitrary?
It is culturally learned through codes and conventions.
What is the paradox of subliminal seduction?
Advertisers deny it, it is possible, it can influence, but its effectiveness is debated.
How do advertisers make signifier–signified links seem natural?
By attaching and equating them through repeated association.
What is the economic value of signs in sport?
Sponsorships, product placement, branding, and logo visibility monetised.
What is NIL in US college sport?
Name, Image, Likeness rights allowing athletes to profit from personal branding.
What are the three steps in deconstructing an ad?
- Identify product
- Identify what is signified
- Identify signifiers used.
When was the first Olympic media broadcast?
1936 Berlin Games – 3 cameras, 162,000 viewers.
When did the IOC first use the Olympic rings publicly?
1914 – IOC’s 20th Anniversary.
What percentage of the IOC budget is from media rights?
61% (~US$4.5B in 2024).
What percentage of the IOC budget is from sponsorship?
30% (~US$1.7B).
How much do TOP Olympic sponsors pay?
Around US$100 million.
Give examples of protected Olympic IP.
Rings, mottos, official images, ‘Olympic Games’ wording.
What is the NZ Olympic 3x3x3 rule?
No more than 3 Olympic segments/day, 3 minutes each, from SKY broadcast.
What is the NZ Olympic 6x1½ rule?
Max 6 programs/day, total 1.5 minutes each, for 24-hour news channels.
What did VanWynsberghe & Ritchie (1998) argue about the rings?
Their authenticity is manufactured; the myth gives them power.
What does ‘contested terrain of signs’ mean?
Signs are political, tied to identity, representation, and resistance.
