SPORTS AND
TELEVISION
OVERVIEW
SPORTS BROADCASTING ORIGINS
SPORTS’ ROLE ON TV PROGRAMMING
BOXING ERA, 1946-1962
ABC NEW STRATEGIES, 1960s
COLOR TV AND PRO FOOTBALL
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
SPORT SHOWS – SPORT NETWORKS
TV IMPACT ON SPORTS
SPORTS TV BROADCASTING
ORIGINS
1939 NBC WXBS STATION EXPERIMENTAL
BROADCAST BASEBALL, TENNIS AND
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
1940 INCLUDED BASKETBALL, HOCKEY,
TRACK & FIELD
1941 BROADCAST CANCELLED
TELECAST SHORTCOMINGS: AUDIENCE,
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, LACK OF
SPONSORS, SCREEN RESOLUTION
LIMITATIONS, RADIO HEGEMONY.
BOXING ERA 1945-1960
WWII AND COLD WAR VALUES
LOUIS, MARCIANO, ROBINSON
LIMITATIONS: OUTCOME, VIEWERS’
EXPECTATIONS
RACE/ETHNIC CHANGES IN
PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS
OVERSATURATION, VIOLENCE
TIES WITH ORGANIZED CRIME
PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
1945-1960
1946 BERT BELL, NEW NFL COMMISSIONER.
1945 ALL-AMERICAN FOOTBALL
CONFERENCE, A NEW PRO LEAGUE FORMED
BY ARCH WARD, SPORTS WRITER IN
CHICAGO.
AAFC= STRONG COMPETITION WITH THE
NFL, BETTER SALARIES, ALL-STAR GAME
WARD’S IDEA, A GAME IN DECEMBER
BETWEEN THE TWO LEAGUES’ CHAMPIONS
PRO FOOTBALL 1945-1960
AAFC STAR: PAUL BROWN, COACH
SUCCESS WITH MASILLON H.S., OHIO STATE.
REVOLUTIONIZE FOOTBALL COACHING:
PLAY BOOKS FOR PLAYERS, FILM ANALYSIS,
PLAY-BY-PLAY BREAKDOWN, RADIO
RECEIVER IN QB’S HELMET, FULL TIME
ASSISTANT COACHES, PRESS BOX
ANALYSIS, UNLIMITED SUBSTITUTIONS,
UNLIMITED RESERVES WITH ‘TAXI SQUAD’
TACTICS.
PRO FOOTBALL 1945-1960
PAUL BROWN, ECONOMIC SUCCESS
1950 NFL ABSORBED THREE TEAMS
FROM THE AAFC.
UNLIMITED SUBS, UNLIMITED
RESERVES, BROWN STRATEGIES=
HIGHER QUALITY IN GAMES
NFL 1950s ATTENDANCE RISE FROM
25,000 TO 40,000 AVG
PRO FOOTBALL
SPECIALIZATION= FASTER AND MORE
ATTRACTIVE STYLE
1951 FIRST BROADCASTING
CONTRACT WITH DuMONT NETWORK
1956 CBS $1 MILLION TV CONTRACT
NATIONAL RULES: LOCAL BLACKOUTS,
ONE GAME-WEEK
PRO FOOTBALL, ROZELLE ERA
1959 BELL DIED
1959 AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, 8
TEAMS IN DIRECT ECONOMIC
COMPETITION WITH THE NFL
AFL, LAMAR HUNT, TEXAS
MILLIONAIRE, 20s, DALLAS-BASED
TEAM REJECTED BY THE NFL. KANSAS
CITY FRANCHISE.
NFL, ROZELLE ERA
PETE ROZELLE, MARKETING AND P.R.
TRAINING, PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM,
LOS ANGELES RAMS PUBLICIST. 1957
L.A. RAMS GENERAL MANAGER
FOOTBALL MERCHANDISE LINE,
PRODUCTS WITH THE RAMS LOGO
(HATS, CUPS, T-SHIRTS) TEAM-LOGO
BUSINESS.
NFL, ROZELLE ERA
1960 ROZELLE, NEW NFL
COMMISSIONER. MOVED THE NFL HQ
TO MANHATTAN.
DRAMATIC CHANGE IN TV RIGHTS,
“SINGLE PACKAGE” POLICY: ALL TV
RIGHTS-ALL TEAMS-INCOME DIVIDED
EQUALLY, OPPOSED BY GIANTS,
BEARS AND RAMS
NFL ROZELLE ERA
ROZELLE: MORE INCOME FROM TV IF ALL
TEAMS BARGAIN TOGETHER. TV MARKET,
NFL FUTURE.
1961 U.S. CONGRESS PASSED THE “SPORTS
ANTITRUST BROADCAST ACT”, ALLOWING
ROZELLE’S SINGLE PACKAGE POLICY
1964-65 SECRET BID-OPEN CEREMONY, CBS
WON ($14,000,000 A YEAR).
ABC NEW STRATEGIES
ABC: EDGE FROM NEW SPORTS BROADCASTING
STYLE; 1960 CONTRACT WITH THE AFL
ROONE P. ARLEDGE, 1960 FOOTBALL GAMES
PRODUCER; SHOW BIZZ
PRINCIPLE: EVENT AS IMPORTANT AS OUTCOME
GAME SETTING AMBIENCE. MULTIPLE
PERSPECTIVES, CLOSE UPS, CHEERLEADERS,
OVER ENTHUSIASTIC FANS
ARLEDGE PRODUCTIONS
CROWD AS IMPORTANT AS PLAYERS
SEX APPEAL IN STANDS/SIDELINES
TV-NEW BROADCASTING STYLE
FANS CONTEST FOR “SCREEN-TIME”
BANNERS, CUSTOMS, LEGENDS
MONUMENTAL TAKES, IN GAME
ADVERTISING
ARLEDGE PRINCIPLE
BRING
THE VIEWER
TO THE EVENT.
NOT THE EVENT TO
THE VIEWER.
ABC SPORTS PRODUCTIONS
COVERAGE BEFORE, DURING, AFTER
SLOW MOTION, INSTANT REPLAY,
LONG SHOTS, CLOSE UPS, VIEWER
ATTENTION, SPLIT-SCREEN
INDUCED CONTROVERSY
CROWD-CARNIVAL-TAKES
PLAYERS STATISTICS: PRESENT
EXTRAORDINARY DIMENSIONS
ABC WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS
1961 BEGINNING, SPORTS-ONLY SHOW
FIRST IN STOP-ACTION FILMING
VARIETY-SHOW-ON-SPORTS
CONTROVERSY SELLS, HATE-LOVE FIGURES
(MUHAMMAD ALI, JOE NAMATH, BATTLE OF
THE SEXES, ETC)
WINTER SPORTS, TROPICAL LOCATIONS,
BIZARRE EVENTS
EVENT AS IMPORTANT AS OUTCOME
ABC MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
ARLEDGE SECOND CREATION, 1970
CONTROVERSIAL BROADCASTING, NO TO
NFL “ANNOUNCER-APPROVAL”
HOWARD COSELL, NY FORMER BOXINGVOICE, PROMOTE-CRITICIZE-PROVOKE“TELL IT LIKE IT IS”
TRANSITION IN BROADCAST ANNOUNCERS
FROM THE “GOLDEN THROAT” MODEL
(BLOW-BY-BLOW PLAY CALLER) TO “MOST
HATED ANNOUNCER” NEW STYLE.
COLOR TV AND PRO FOOTBALL
1959 PETE ROZELLE, NFL COMMISSI.
TV RIGHTS CONTRACTS-AUCTIONS
1964 CBS-NFL, NBC-AFL
NBC $, AFL COULD COMPETE W/NAT.
LEAGUE
ARTIFICIAL TURFS, TEAM LOGOS-END ZONE
TV-MADE UNIFORMS, NAMES, LOGOS,
COLORS. 1967 SUPER BOWL I
ARLEDGE’S IMPACT ON TV
1970s NBC, CBS ADOPTED ABC STRAT.
1970s-1970s TV $ IN SPORTS BOOM
PRO FOOTBALL, MOST POPULAR
SPORT-ENTERTAINMENT
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS ADOPTED
NEW RULES TO INCREASE TV RATINGS
SPORTS BECAME TV PRODUCTIONS
TELEVISION IMPACT ON SPORTS
TRANSFORMATION OF TEAM SPORTS
IN RULES, SCHEDULES,
TRANSFORMATION OF
“CHAMPIONSHIP-RULES”
SUBORDINATION OF SPORTS TO
MEDIA INTERESTS
MORE PEOPLE PREFER TO WATCH
THAN TO PLAY
