Television, Sports and Mass
Culture
The Role of
Television in
American Sports After
1946
I. Televised Sports: Origins
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TV changes the nature of
sports
Love affair between TV and
boxing
The love affair enters a
“rocky” period
A very quiet Friday night
Some boxing fans happy with
the end of fight night
TV and sports—good, bad, or
both?
I. Televised Sports: Origins (cont.)
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Sports on TV—an early
novelty
--Columbia vs. Princeton
(May 17, 1939)
Television industry takes
off after World War II
Initial programming
obstacles
Sports or Entertainment?
II. Wrestling on Television
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History of wrestling
During WWII, a new form of
professional wrestling
emerged
-- “Gorgeous” George
Lovers of “true” sports
attacked George’s behavior
Ex-boxers and women turned
to wrestling for a living
Women were avid viewers
TV adds to “carnival”
atmosphere of wrestling
III. Roller Derby on Television
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Origins of Roller Derby
ABC introduces
televised roller derby in
1949
Similarities between pro
wrestling and roller
derby
Violent fans and
swearing, punching
women
IV. Boxing on Television
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Boxing forges the strongest
ties with TV in the 40’s and
50’s
Everyone connected with the
partnership is at first pleased
with the results
--Gillette Safety Razor
Company and the “Friday
Night Fights”
New standards for judging a
“good” fight
IV. Boxing on Television (cont.)
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Hurricane Jackson: the
new style TV boxer
Popularity of white, wellrounded boxers
--Roland LaStarza and
Chuck Davey
Television changes
boxing
IV. Boxing on Television (cont.)
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Television destroys the
club system
Big fight arenas face
reduced live gate
revenues
--Madison Square
Garden
By late 1950’s, the
romance between TV
and boxing was stale
V. Basketball on Television
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Television set sales
jumped tremendously in
1948
Sports an important part
of 1948 TV programming
Basketball dominates
programming in the
winter of 1948
Problems with TV
coverage of basketball
VI. Baseball on Television
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Technological problems
Owners sign their own
TV deals to the
detriment of competitive
balance
Televised games take
their toll at the gates
Decline for minor league
teams a real problem
VII. Professional Football on TV
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TV really contributes to the
growth and popularity of pro
football
Owners negotiated a single
package with revenue sharing
Pro football looked good on
early TV
1958 championship game
By 1960, TV was firmly a part
of the sporting scene for
better and for worse
VIII. The “Roone Revolution”
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Real revolution in sports
television in the 60’s and
70’s
Roone Arledge and
Richard Nixon
Arledge’s background
A bold new plan for
covering football games
Near-perfect program
judgement
VIII. The “Roone Revolution” (cont)
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First task: improve
televised college football
Goal: attract the casual
viewer
Lots of shots of beautiful
women
Bringing the sounds of
football to TV viewers
Introduces instant replay
IX. “Wide World of Sports”
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Arledge’s approach
successful from the
beginning
Aggressive pursuit of the
rights for major sports
events
Keys to success for
“Wide World of Sports”
Criticism of the show
IX. “Wide World of Sports”
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The use of creative editing
Securing the rights to
Acapulco cliff divers
The appearances of “Evel”
Knievel
Wide World of Sports
produced a number of
spinoffs
-- “The American Sportsman”
-- “The Superstars”
X. Monday Night Football
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Encouragement from
Pete Rozelle
More and better
technology
Selecting a team of
announcers
--Keith Jackson
Don Meredith: country
charm and humor
X. Monday Night Football (cont.)
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Howard Cosell—the man
people loved to hate
Reactions to the show
were predictably strong
Team of announcers
altered for the second
season
--Frank Gifford
XI. The Olympics on Television
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Arledge changed the
way that Americans saw
the Olympic Games
Host cities promised
publicity and exposure
Heroic technology and
extended coverage
An opportunity to
promote their own
television shows
XII. The Battle over Control of
Television Sports
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By the mid-70’s, Arledge was
one of the top executives in
the industry
-- “Saturday Night Live with
Howard Cosell”
Battle over the 1980 Moscow
Olympic Games
Sports TV becomes a sellers
market
--Sugar Ray Leonard
XIII. The Era of “Trash Sports”
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Origins of ABC’s “The
Superstars” (1973)
--Red Auerbach protests
the NBA’s betrayal
“Trash Sports” shows
multiply
“Battle of the Network
Stars”
Era of “trash sports”
ended in the early 80’s
XIX. The “Golden Age” of
Television Sports Ending?
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Competition from local
“superstations” and
cable channels in the
80’s
--WTBS and ESPN
Traditional sports
sponsors began moving
their advertising dollars
into other areas
XIX. The “Golden Age” of TV
Sports Ending? (cont.)
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TV networks caught
between rising costs for
rights and falling
advertising dollars
Capital City takes over
ABC in 1985
Rising costs for rights in
the 90’s and sports
dependence on
television revenue
XIX. The “Golden Age” of TV
Sports Ending? (cont.)
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For the most part, televised
sport takes place outside of
prime time
Special events still work for
prime time
NBC’s commitment to the
Olympics in the 90’s
Appetite for TV sports still
seems to be high
The success of the 1996
Atlanta Games on TV
XX. How Has Television Changed
the Game Itself?
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Has TV influenced the way a
game is played?
Instant Replay
The “TV time out”
Starting times for games
Schedule of Olympic events
Winter Olympics bumped to
another year starting in 1994
1988 Calgary games moved
North American settings