Broadcasting of sports events
Encyclopedia
The broadcasting of sports events is the coverage of sport
s as a television program
, on radio
and other broadcasting
media. It usually involves one or more sports commentator
s describing the events as they happen.
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcast a 10-round, no decision boxing match between Johnny Dundee
and Johnny Ray at Pittsburgh’s Motor Square Garden
. Prior to that, an experimental telegraph broadcast of the 1919 Lone Star Showdown was held on Thanksgiving Day of that year on experimental station 5XB, the predecessor of WTAW
.
The first radio broadcast of a baseball game
occurred on 5 August 1921 over KDKA from Pittsburgh's Forbes Field
. Harold W. Arlin announced a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates
and the Philadelphia Phillies
. Two months later, on October 8, 1921, from the same Forbes Field, Arlin announced the first live radio broadcast of a college football game on KDKA when he gave the play-by-play action of the University of Pittsburgh victory over West Virginia University.
On May 17, 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. (The world's first live televised sporting event had been the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.) On September 30, 1939, the first American football
game, a college contest between Fordham
and Waynesburg College was broadcast on television. 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.
NBC broadcast the first televised National Football League
(NFL) game when they carried the 22 October 1939 game between the Philadelphia Eagles
and the Brooklyn Dodgers
. The same year, the first nationwide radio broadcast of an NFL championship game was carried on the Mutual Broadcasting System
. While the NFL had weak television deals that ranked behind college football and even the Canadian Football League
in the 1950s, the broadcast rights of the NFL
would go on to become an important property following the 1958 NFL Championship
and the later establishment of the American Football League
in 1960. Monday Night Football
, NFL on Fox
, and NBC Sunday Night Football
have changed the landscape of American football broadcasts, including the scheduling of the Super Bowl
, transforming it into a primetime spectacle from an afternoon broadcast. The price for the NFL's broadcast rights has increased steadily over the past several decades, in part because of bidding wars between the numerous networks, to the point where the league nets over $3 billion, or 40% of the league's overall revenue, from television rights alone; four of the five major sports television units in the United States currently own some NFL rights.
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, the NHL refused to televise its games in the United States for six years in the 1960s. For this reason, as well as the regional nature of the sport, televised NHL games have struggled to gain a foothold on American television for the past several decades, trailing the other leagues in ratings. After several decades of bouncing around various networks, the NHL established a stable broadcast partner in 2004, when NBC and Versus
took over NHL broadcast rights, having since renewed those rights through 2021.
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 the action was taking place due to a second commentator reading out grid references during the match.
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.
to update fans in Winnipeg
of the Stanley Cup
challenge series between Montreal and Winnipeg ice hockey
teams. In 1923, the first radio broadcast of an ice hockey game took place on February 8, with the broadcast of the third period of a game between Midland and North Toronto of the Ontario Hockey Association
. Later that month, the first full-game broadcast took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba. That same season, hockey broadcasting pioneer Foster Hewitt
made his first broadcast.
In 1933, Hewitt called a Canada
-wide radio broadcast of an NHL game between the Detroit Red Wings
and the Toronto Maple Leafs
. Always starting the broadcast with "Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland
!"; this phrase stuck around (albeit without the "Newfoundland" portion after the dominion confederated into Canada in 1949) all the way to CBC's
first national television broadcast (the first actual broadcast was on closed-circuit
in Maple Leaf Gardens
in Spring 1952) of Hockey Night in Canada
in October 1952. Today it is consistently among the highest-rated programs in Canada.
In the United Kingdom
BSkyB
based its early marketing largely on its acquisition of the broadcast rights of the top division of the English league football, which as part of the deal with The Football Association
broke away from The Football League
to become the FA Premier League. This prevented the footage of any major Premiership football game being shown on free-to-air television until much later that evening (as highlights), something the European Commission
were very unhappy about. Following warnings of legal action to stop the monopoly, an announcement was made that an alternative structure would be in place when the current contracts end in 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4444684.stm
In the United States
, sports are broadcast by networks
usually only in "game of the week" or championship situations, except for the NFL (see NFL on television
). Other sports are broadcast by sports channels, and are limited by who can view them based on various rules set by the leagues themselves, resulting in blackouts. These limitations can be legally overlooked by purchasing out-of-market sports package
s, such as MLB Extra Innings or NFL Sunday Ticket
. Regular season games involving local teams (except the NFL) may also be viewed on those local stations or regional sports channels that have a contract to broadcast that team's games.
TV Rights of the UEFA Champions League, per country. Season 2009-2010, according to footbiz
, FIFA World Cup
and Cricket World Cup
should be available live, while "Category B" events such as all test cricket
played in England and the Commonwealth Games
should be available as highlights or with a short delay.
A similar concept applies in Italy and Australia to some important sport events.
. Other events that have been described as "the most watched" per various definitions include the 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.
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. ITV
broadcast a smaller portfolio of events, and Channel 4
broadcast a few events from the 1980s, mainly horse races and so-called minority sports. In the early 1990s this arrangement was shaken up by the arrival of pay-TV in the form of BSkyB. Their dedicated sports channels have since become the only place for some major sports to be seen. Starting in 2006 the Irish company Setanta Sports
emerged as a challenger to Sky Sports' dominance of the British pay-TV sports market; however, Setanta's UK channel went into bankruptcy administration and off the air in 2009. There is also a dedicated UK-version of Eurosport
, called British Eurosport, as well as a dedicated UK version
of ESPN.
Radio sports coverage is also important. The BBC's Radio Five Live broadcasts almost all major sports events. It now has a commercial rival called talkSPORT
, but this has not acquired anywhere near as many exclusive contracts as Sky Sports
and dedicates much of its airtime to sports discussions and phone-ins. BBC Local Radio
also provides extensive coverage of sport, giving more exposure to second-tier clubs which get limited national coverage.
Sports on television ranges through many channels including BBC1, ITV, SkySports and SkySportsHD. Football and rugby are most popular.
, or in some cases, regionally syndicated
by an operation such as Raycom Sports
or a team), and nationally available cable channels (such as ESPN, one of the first national sports channels). In some leagues (such as the NHL and the NBA), events are also primarily shown by regional sports network
s groups (such as Fox Sports Net
), networks which air telecasts for teams of local interest, which are usually only carried within the relevant market. Additionally, cable channels also exist that are dedicated to specific types of sports, certain College sports conferences, or a specific league.
s that show sporting events, sports news, and various sport-related programming.
is by far the largest dedicated sports channel. It has spawned ESPN2
, ESPNEWS
, ESPNU
, ESPN Classic
, and ESPN3.com the four networks broadcast a wide variety of sporting events, ranging from major sports playoffs to lumberjack contests and poker.
ESPN has even been the namesake of several children as documented in this BBC article
Several regional sports channels offer lower-profile content. Examples include Fox Sports Network and Comcast SportsNet
.
CBS College Sports Network, ESPNU
and Fox College Sports
broadcast collegiate (university) sporting events with smaller audiences that have heretofore been largely absent from national television.
With the growing number of 'niche' channels on the U.S. television landscape, a swarm of channels have sprung up that focus heavily or exclusively on one sport:
Some of the world's largest sports clubs have their own channels, or own shares in other sports networks. Examples include Yankees Entertainment and Sports
and Manchester United TV
. An example of the latter, the Boston Red Sox
own a majority stake of the regional New England Sports Network
which retains the New England area television broadcast rights for the majority of Red Sox games (except for the few which are carried nationally on Fox or ESPN and playoff games). The New York Mets
own SportsNet New York
jointly with Comcast
and Time Warner Cable
, and Madison Square Garden
has its own network as well, where they broadcast original shows, New York Rangers
, New York Knicks
, and high school basketball games. In addition, the Big Ten Network is dedicated to airing teams from different collegiate sports in the Big Ten Conference
, which holds joint ownership in the channel with Fox.
The most widely known networks under common ownership of a sports team are the ones owned by Comcast
, which, through its subsidiary Spectacor, owns the Philadelphia Flyers
and Philadelphia 76ers
, and also owns numerous television outlets, including NBC Sports
and Versus
, which is to be renamed NBC Sports Network in January 2012. Because NBC and Versus hold the exclusive national broadcast rights to the NHL through 2021, they have used these rights to promote the Flyers, with the team generally getting the most game coverage of any of the NHL's twenty-three American teams in the networks' NHL coverage. (No Comcast properties own any national rights to the NBA.)
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s as a television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and other broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
media. It usually involves one or more sports commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
s describing the events as they happen.
United States
The first voice broadcast of a sporting event took place on 11 April 1921 when Westinghouse station KDKAKDKA (AM)
KDKA is a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on November 2, 1920, it is one of the world's first modern radio stations , a distinction that has also been challenged by other stations, although it has claimed to be the first in...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcast a 10-round, no decision boxing match between Johnny Dundee
Johnny Dundee
Johnny Dundee was a featherweight and junior lightweight boxer who fought from 1910 until 1932. Dundee was born Giuseppe Curreri in Sciacca, Sicily, but was raised in the United States....
and Johnny Ray at Pittsburgh’s Motor Square Garden
Motor Square Garden
Motor Square Garden, also known as East Liberty Market, is a building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
. Prior to that, an experimental telegraph broadcast of the 1919 Lone Star Showdown was held on Thanksgiving Day of that year on experimental station 5XB, the predecessor of WTAW
WTAW
WTAW is an AM radio station licensed to the city of College Station, Texas. The station is currently owned by Bryan Broadcasting Company and features programing from Premiere Radio Networks and Westwood One....
.
The first radio broadcast of a baseball game
Major League Baseball on the radio
Major League Baseball on the radio has been a tradition for almost 80 years, and still exists today. Baseball was one of the first sports to be broadcast in the United States...
occurred on 5 August 1921 over KDKA from Pittsburgh's Forbes Field
Forbes Field
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
. Harold W. Arlin announced a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
and the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
. Two months later, on October 8, 1921, from the same Forbes Field, Arlin announced the first live radio broadcast of a college football game on KDKA when he gave the play-by-play action of the University of Pittsburgh victory over West Virginia University.
On May 17, 1939, the United States' first televised sporting event, a college baseball game between the Columbia Lions
Columbia Lions
The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is M...
and Princeton Tigers
Princeton Tigers
The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf...
, was broadcast by NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from Columbia's Baker Field. (The world's first live televised sporting event had been the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.) On September 30, 1939, the first American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game, a college contest between Fordham
Fordham Rams
The 22 Fordham University varsity sports teams are known as the Fordham Rams. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for all sports except football. In football, the Rams play in the Patriot League of NCAA...
and Waynesburg College was broadcast on television. The broadcasting of college football games
College football on television
College football on television includes the broadcasting of college football games, as well as pre- and post-game reports, analysis, and human-interest stories. Within the United States, the college version of American football annually garners high television ratings.College football games have...
on television in the United States has been a fixture of the major networks on a continuous basis since that time.
NBC broadcast the first televised National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) game when they carried the 22 October 1939 game between the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Brooklyn Dodgers
Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)
The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks...
. The same year, the first nationwide radio broadcast of an NFL championship game was carried on the Mutual Broadcasting System
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
. While the NFL had weak television deals that ranked behind college football and even the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
in the 1950s, the broadcast rights of the NFL
NFL on television
The television rights to broadcast National Football League games are the most lucrative and expensive rights of any American sport. It was television that brought professional football into prominence in the modern era after World War II...
would go on to become an important property following the 1958 NFL Championship
NFL Championship Game, 1958
The 1958 National Football League Championship Game was played on December 28, 1958 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first ever National Football League playoff game to go into sudden death overtime. The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17. The game has since...
and the later establishment of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
in 1960. Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
, NFL on Fox
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
, and NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
have changed the landscape of American football broadcasts, including the scheduling of the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, transforming it into a primetime spectacle from an afternoon broadcast. The price for the NFL's broadcast rights has increased steadily over the past several decades, in part because of bidding wars between the numerous networks, to the point where the league nets over $3 billion, or 40% of the league's overall revenue, from television rights alone; four of the five major sports television units in the United States currently own some NFL rights.
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, the NHL refused to televise its games in the United States for six years in the 1960s. For this reason, as well as the regional nature of the sport, televised NHL games have struggled to gain a foothold on American television for the past several decades, trailing the other leagues in ratings. After several decades of bouncing around various networks, the NHL established a stable broadcast partner in 2004, when NBC and Versus
NHL on Versus
The NHL on Versus was the former branding used for National Hockey League games broadcast on Versus. Versus became the NHL's cable partner in the United States beginning in the 2005-06 season from previous partner ESPN, providing coverage of regular season games, playoff games, and select games...
took over NHL broadcast rights, having since renewed those rights through 2021.
United Kingdom
The first sports event broadcast in the United Kingdom was a Rugby UnionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
international between England and Wales, broadcast from Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
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
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
. Listeners to the broadcast could use numbered grids published in the Radio Times in order to ascertain in which area of the pitch the action was taking place due to a second commentator reading out grid references during the match.
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.
Canada
Broadcasting of sports started with descriptions of play sent via telegraph in the 1890s. In 1896, a telegraph line was connected to the Victoria Rink in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to update fans in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
of the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
challenge series between Montreal and Winnipeg ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
teams. In 1923, the first radio broadcast of an ice hockey game took place on February 8, with the broadcast of the third period of a game between Midland and North Toronto of the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
. Later that month, the first full-game broadcast took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba. That same season, hockey broadcasting pioneer Foster Hewitt
Foster Hewitt
Foster William Hewitt, OC was a Canadian radio broadcaster most famous for his play-by-play calls for Hockey Night in Canada. He was the son of W. A. Hewitt, and the father of Bill Hewitt.-Early life and career:...
made his first broadcast.
In 1933, Hewitt called a Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-wide radio broadcast of an NHL game between the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
and the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. Always starting the broadcast with "Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
!"; this phrase stuck around (albeit without the "Newfoundland" portion after the dominion confederated into Canada in 1949) all the way to CBC's
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
first national television broadcast (the first actual broadcast was on closed-circuit
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
in Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
in Spring 1952) of Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
in October 1952. Today it is consistently among the highest-rated programs in Canada.
Broadcasting rights and contracts
Broadcasting rights and contracts limit who can show footage of the event.In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
based its early marketing largely on its acquisition of the broadcast rights of the top division of the English league football, which as part of the deal with The Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
broke away from The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
to become the FA Premier League. This prevented the footage of any major Premiership football game being shown on free-to-air television until much later that evening (as highlights), something the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
were very unhappy about. Following warnings of legal action to stop the monopoly, an announcement was made that an alternative structure would be in place when the current contracts end in 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4444684.stm
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, sports are broadcast by networks
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
usually only in "game of the week" or championship situations, except for the NFL (see NFL on television
NFL on television
The television rights to broadcast National Football League games are the most lucrative and expensive rights of any American sport. It was television that brought professional football into prominence in the modern era after World War II...
). Other sports are broadcast by sports channels, and are limited by who can view them based on various rules set by the leagues themselves, resulting in blackouts. These limitations can be legally overlooked by purchasing out-of-market sports package
Out-of-Market Sports Package
In the North America, an Out-of-Market Sports Package is a form of subscription television that broadcasts sporting events to areas who are unavailable to see them because the games are not broadcast in their local market....
s, such as MLB Extra Innings or NFL Sunday Ticket
NFL Sunday Ticket
NFL Sunday Ticket is an Out-of-Market Sports Package that broadcasts National Football League regular season games unavailable on local affiliates. It carries all regional Sunday afternoon games produced by Fox and CBS...
. Regular season games involving local teams (except the NFL) may also be viewed on those local stations or regional sports channels that have a contract to broadcast that team's games.
TV Rights of the UEFA Champions League, per country. Season 2009-2010, according to footbiz
- United Kingdom: 179 million euros
- Italy: 98 million euros
- Spain: 91 million euros
- Germany: 85 million euros
- France: 52 million euros
- Croatia: 28 million euros
- Greece: 8,5 million euros
- Poland: 8,1 million euros
- North America: 3,5 million euros
- Belgium: 2,9 million euros
- Australia: 2,9 million euros
- Ireland: 2 million euros
- Canada: 0,4 million euros
- Cyprus: 0,2 million euros
Protected events
In the UK, the regulations set out in the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed & Designated Events dictate that some sporting events must have coverage made available to free-to-air channels. "Category A" events, including the Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
and Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
should be available live, while "Category B" events such as all test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
played in England and the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
should be available as highlights or with a short delay.
A similar concept applies in Italy and Australia to some important sport events.
Major sports broadcasts
The sporting event with the largest worldwide audience is the Tour De FranceTour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
. Other events that have been described as "the most watched" per various definitions include the Summer Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
, Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
, UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
(rugby union), Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
, Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, and the FIA Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
World Championship.
United Kingdom
The British media is dominated by national outlets, with local media playing a much smaller role. Traditionally the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
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. ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
broadcast a smaller portfolio of events, and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
broadcast a few events from the 1980s, mainly horse races and so-called minority sports. In the early 1990s this arrangement was shaken up by the arrival of pay-TV in the form of BSkyB. Their dedicated sports channels have since become the only place for some major sports to be seen. Starting in 2006 the Irish company Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
emerged as a challenger to Sky Sports' dominance of the British pay-TV sports market; however, Setanta's UK channel went into bankruptcy administration and off the air in 2009. There is also a dedicated UK-version of Eurosport
Eurosport
Eurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
, called British Eurosport, as well as a dedicated UK version
ESPN (UK)
ESPN is a sports television channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland owned by American sports broadcaster ESPN Inc. The channel launched on 3 August 2009...
of ESPN.
Radio sports coverage is also important. The BBC's Radio Five Live broadcasts almost all major sports events. It now has a commercial rival called talkSPORT
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
, but this has not acquired anywhere near as many exclusive contracts as Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
and dedicates much of its airtime to sports discussions and phone-ins. BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio is the BBC's regional radio service for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of 40 stations. They cover a variety of areas with some serving a city and surrounding areas, for example BBC Radio Manchester; a county, for example BBC Radio Norfolk; an administrative region for...
also provides extensive coverage of sport, giving more exposure to second-tier clubs which get limited national coverage.
Sports on television ranges through many channels including BBC1, ITV, SkySports and SkySportsHD. Football and rugby are most popular.
United States
In the United States, national and local media both serve major roles in sports broadcasting. Depending on the league and event, telecasts are often shown on network television (traditionally on weekends and during major events either national through a Television networkTelevision network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
, or in some cases, regionally syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
by an operation such as Raycom Sports
Raycom Sports
Raycom Sports is an American syndicator of sports television programs. It is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and owned and operated by Raycom Media.-Founding:...
or a team), and nationally available cable channels (such as ESPN, one of the first national sports channels). In some leagues (such as the NHL and the NBA), events are also primarily shown by regional sports network
Regional sports network
In the United States of America and Canada, a regional sports network, or RSN, is a cable television station that presents sports programming to a local market. The most important programming on an RSN consists of live broadcasts of professional and college sporting events, as those games generate...
s groups (such as Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
), networks which air telecasts for teams of local interest, which are usually only carried within the relevant market. Additionally, cable channels also exist that are dedicated to specific types of sports, certain College sports conferences, or a specific league.
Dedicated sports channels
There are sports channelSports channel
Sports channels are television specialty channels broadcast sporting events, usually live, and when not broadcasting events, sports news and other related programming....
s that show sporting events, sports news, and various sport-related programming.
In the United States
In the United States the cable channel ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
is by far the largest dedicated sports channel. It has spawned ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
, ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS , launched on November 1, 1996, is a 24-hour-a-day sports news television channel...
, ESPNU
ESPNU
ESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...
, ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...
, and ESPN3.com the four networks broadcast a wide variety of sporting events, ranging from major sports playoffs to lumberjack contests and poker.
ESPN has even been the namesake of several children as documented in this BBC article
Several regional sports channels offer lower-profile content. Examples include Fox Sports Network and Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet is a group of regional sports networks in the United States primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company....
.
CBS College Sports Network, ESPNU
ESPNU
ESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...
and Fox College Sports
Fox College Sports
Fox College Sports is a group of three United States digital cable networks, FCS Atlantic, FCS Central and FCS Pacific owned by News Corporation, that specialize primarily in showing collegiate programming, live events, coaches shows & various DI, DII, & DIII content surrounding college athletics...
broadcast collegiate (university) sporting events with smaller audiences that have heretofore been largely absent from national television.
With the growing number of 'niche' channels on the U.S. television landscape, a swarm of channels have sprung up that focus heavily or exclusively on one sport:
- American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
: NFL NetworkNFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation... - Auto racingAuto racingAuto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
: SPEED - BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
: NBA TVNBA TVNBA TV is a television specialty channel that is dedicated to showcasing the sport of basketball in the United States. The network is financially backed by the National Basketball Association , which also uses NBA TV as a way of advertising their out of market package NBA League Pass, and partner... - Soccer: Fox Soccer ChannelFox Soccer ChannelFox Soccer is an American television specialty channel, owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, that specializes in soccer. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but is now dedicated strictly to soccer...
, Fox Soccer PlusFox Soccer PlusFox Soccer Plus is an American premium channel dedicated to soccer and rugby. It was formed as a spin-off of Fox Soccer when its owner Fox Entertainment Group re-acquired rights from competitor Setanta Sports USA in January 2010, putting the latter channel out of business...
(not exclusively devoted to soccer) and GolTV - CricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
: Willow Cricket - GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
: The Golf Channel - Horse racingHorse racingHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
: TVG NetworkTVG NetworkTVG Network is an American specialty channel dedicated to horse racing. The company broadcasts from Los Angeles, California and is available in the United States on Dish Network and DirecTV as well as select cable companies... - TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
: Tennis Channel - HockeyHockeyHockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
: NHL Network - BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
: MLB NetworkMLB NetworkMLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...
Some of the world's largest sports clubs have their own channels, or own shares in other sports networks. Examples include Yankees Entertainment and Sports
YES Network
The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a New York City-based, regional cable television channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on New York Yankees baseball games, and New Jersey Nets basketball games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002...
and Manchester United TV
Manchester United TV
MUTV is an English subscription based television channel, operated by Manchester United FC. The channel first broadcast on 10 September 1998....
. An example of the latter, the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
own a majority stake of the regional New England Sports Network
New England Sports Network
The New England Sports Network, or NESN [NESS-en], is a regional cable television network that covers the six New England states except Fairfield County, Connecticut and Southbury, Connecticut, a town in New Haven County, Connecticut which is covered by New York City sports networks...
which retains the New England area television broadcast rights for the majority of Red Sox games (except for the few which are carried nationally on Fox or ESPN and playoff games). The New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
own SportsNet New York
SportsNet New York
SportsNet New York is a New York City-based regional sports cable network which airs in the New York metro area and all of New York state, and nationwide via satellite. It is owned jointly by the New York Mets, Time Warner Cable, and NBCUniversal...
jointly with Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
and Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
, and Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
has its own network as well, where they broadcast original shows, New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
, New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, and high school basketball games. In addition, the Big Ten Network is dedicated to airing teams from different collegiate sports in the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
, which holds joint ownership in the channel with Fox.
The most widely known networks under common ownership of a sports team are the ones owned by Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, which, through its subsidiary Spectacor, owns the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
, and also owns numerous television outlets, including NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
and Versus
Versus (TV channel)
Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
, which is to be renamed NBC Sports Network in January 2012. Because NBC and Versus hold the exclusive national broadcast rights to the NHL through 2021, they have used these rights to promote the Flyers, with the team generally getting the most game coverage of any of the NHL's twenty-three American teams in the networks' NHL coverage. (No Comcast properties own any national rights to the NBA.)