Sports and Television – trends and problems of a lucrative relationship

Professor Helmut Digel's address to the IAAF International TV Seminar in Athens.

Sports and Television – trends and problems of a lucrative relationship

The development of sports since 1950

When looking back over the last 50 years we recognise how fundamentally the system of sports has changed. A relatively simple and easily comprehensible variety of different sports has developed into one of the most important systems of society, whose complexity makes it difficult to understand. The changes that have taken place may be characterised as a process of “sportification” in our society.

Meanwhile everybody is talking about sports. Wherever there is communication, communication about sports is likely. In parliamentary debates as well as in pubs, in the media and at universities sports are very popular and frequent topics of communication. In this context sports has definitely become a synonym of the entire culture of physical exercise, play and games as well as body culture. The semantic significance of the term “sport” has become broader, and we can easily observe how many places acquire the term “sport” as one of their primary features, and how activities are more closely characterised by the term ”sport”. Sport is used for yoga, breathing exercises, jogging and hiking, but the hard core of sports does also still exists, such as the traditional sports with their competitive elements. Meanwhile sports also take place everywhere. Whereas sports used to be restricted to the facilities of traditional sports – which are gyms and sports halls as well as outdoor sports fields as defined by sports through their rules, sports today are practised in the air, on the ground and in the water, indoor and outdoor. Apart from the extension of the environment we can also observe changes concerning the people practising sports. Whereas 50 years ago sports were activities for young people – and primarily for young men, and the sporting environment was also characterised by athletic masculinity, this has changed fundamentally. Today sports are activities for every man and every woman, having developed to a mass phenomenon in the true sense of the word and consequently having gained importance from the cradle to the grave: we do already have sports kindergartens, sports boarding schools and special sports schools as well as sports hospitals, and the only thing that is missing in this line is actually the athletes’ cemetery.

If a phenomenon affects our society so comprehensively and connects masses of people to itself it is understandable that it also becomes a matter of money; and wherever we discuss sports these days we also discuss it in connection with monetary questions, with questions concerning possible financial profits and potential losses. Economic aspects have become features of sport as we experience it today and the economy is also undergoing a process of becoming more sporting. We can observe quite an interesting exchange in this respect.
Science with its expertise and knowledge has entered this interesting and complex world of sports. More and more scientists and disciplines of science participate in advising sports; in fact, they profit from the process of differentiation of sports by the foundation of scientific professions which serve sports. Especially technology has become a decisive motor for the development of sports, and technological experts with their scientific expertise are in particular demand in the world of sports.

Sports are an important part of social life also generates conflicts. Thus it is hardly surprising that over the last few decades sports have been exposed to a comprehensive process of being made the focus of laws and rights. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in questions concerning professional sports, but also the problem of cheating and especially the problem of cheating through doping indicates this development. We are only one step away from making sports law an academic profession, chairs are already introduced at universities in this field, and we may justly assume that in the future there will be law firms offering their services in the field of sports law.

Sports have also always been a matter for and of politics, as a result of their own interests as well as the tasks of politics deriving from the electorate. A closer focus on the last 50 years from the angle of the development of sports also reveals an increasing influence of politics on the system of sports.

When looking at the process of “sportification” in our society in greater detail, we may describe this as a process of functional differentiation. Sport increases its functionality, it is being burdened by more and more functions, it is, in fact, over-burdened to some degree.

In this respect the differentiation can be observed on the part of the provider. Whereas in the past there were only few providers of sport – primarily clubs and associations, which had a quasi monopoly on the providing side – today a large number of providers have emerged in the private sector. The same development can be observed in the field of offers. In questions concerning city and regional planning today over 240 sporting activities, disciplines and movement patterns can be distinguished, which illustrates the large diversity offered to the people in our society.

On the part of the people practising sports there is also a process of differentiation under way. Today sports affect all people, and we can identify especially the women as the decisive components of growth within the modern system of sports. Sports have also turned towards all different levels of problems, which has resulted in integrating a number of problematical groups within our society into sports as new target groups. Drug addicts and alcoholics, asylum seeker and foreigners as well as delinquents – we could mention almost any social problem in our society, sports have been used to find solutions for all of them in the past 40 years, to some extent very successfully, frequently, however, without any success.

Beside a large variety of spaces where sport is practised we have also seen a differentiation of dispositions concerning time for the people practising sports. While in the past people practised sports two or three times a week in the evening and went to competitions at the weekends, today opportunities for sporting activities are offered at any time for everyone. Moreover, the financing of sports has changed, too, through more diverse financial sources. In the field of motives for commitment in sports we observe a greater diversity, and with regard to institutions there are now many different relevant organisations and institutions in the complex system of modern sports in our society.

The differentiation of the sports system has brought about a large diversity of options for the people, which has made sports a selection menu. The classical pyramid of the past as it was discussed especially in the 1950s and 60s has lost its stability.
The place of this pyramid has been occupied by a complex variety of sports, which currently are in a process of transition. One trend is to be realised in this respect: within the comprehensive system of sports partial systems are developing, at present. In my studies I have distinguished five different models of sport.

Very popular and successful are in this context particularly “sport without organised competition”, “instrumental sport” as well as “professional sport”, which is in the focus of attention especially in the media and which  fascinates masses of spectators.

Observations about the increasing influence of television in our society

In the last 50 years Television also shows a process of functional differentiation displaying a similar quality and structure as is recognisable in the system of sports.

After the introduction of television after World War II there was in Europe very little differentiation on the part of the providers. The TV viewers in those days only had the choice between state-run or public channels. Since the 1960s private providers and pay-TV channels have been established on the national television markets. Now the number of TV-channels seems to be endlessly growing.

Something comparable can be recognised concerning the TV audience. In the past daily TV consumption began in the afternoon, consequently being defined as dependent on the world of work. This is long gone now, and along with the change of life styles and working conditions there have also been alterations with regard to the target groups of television. Just as in sports, TV has quantitatively increased its target groups and wants to reach out to all people from the cradle to the grave. Besides the development of TV to a mass medium special sports channels and special interest programmes leave their marks and address specific target groups.

We can also see a certain degree of differentiation in respect of the room where television programmes are watched.
While in the past the living-room was the place where the family gathered in front of the TV set in the evening, there are TV sets in almost every room in every household today. And the time during which the TV set is turned on has also undergone changes. Whereas some years ago this used to happen only in the evenings and at the weekends, today TV is an all-day medium, which is increasingly being used – in American fashion – as a background medium.

What has also changed is the funding of TV providers. While some time ago fees paid by the consumers dominated over revenues from advertising, TV networks now pay their expenses primarily from money earned through advertising. Pay-TV channels and pay-per-view offers have been added.

The final development we have to mention concerns the motives for TV consumption, which have changed from a concept of “information – education – entertainment” to one of “entertainment – infotainment – information”.

A closer characterisation of the changes TV has undergone reveals its increasing significance. This becomes apparent in the fact that it is an issue of daily communication. Programmes like “Big Brother” these days have the same function as the discussions between pub regulars about each Saturday’s soccer matches, and program hosts and news anchors become themselves celebrities and consequently outstanding people of public interest.

Talking about the changes within the medium of television requires consideration of the changes concerning programmes as well as the forms of their presentation. In this respect terms such as entertainment, infotainment and confrontainment have to be mentioned. There is a tendency towards serving information as “little bites”, but also a special form of video-clip aesthetics. Altogether we are observing a trend on all TV channels towards boulevard and tabloid-type reporting, increasing emotional involvement and personalisation.

The extension of TV channels and programs as well as the mode of their presentation does also leave its marks on those who use this mass medium. Consequently we have to ask what effects television has on the viewers. The dramatic increase of offers and providers generates the danger of over-stimulation and information overload, making disorientation in the jungle of channels a fundamental problem not only for the older generation among the viewers but for everyone. The gap between informed and uninformed people is widening, and what is or is not understood has become a central problem. Some people already show a tendency to withdraw, looking for orientation in local or regional reference systems.

The development of sports and television from the point of view of modernisation theory

If we look at the process of “sportification” on the one hand and the process of “televisionising” on the other hand we may interpret and structure changes as described here from the point of view of modernisation theory. In this respect we seem to be in a process of transition from an industrial to an information and knowledge oriented society, which features especially seven remarkable tendencies.

First of all there is individualisation. Undoubtedly traditional long-term relationships, passed on from generation to generation have gradually eroded. Traditional patterns of behaviour and cultural norms are being questioned, which also indicates a continuous process of secularisation. In this context we can speak of a dimension of demystification of traditions, some things are being deprived of their mystique, consequently, however, no longer directing people’s actions. Wherever such free spaces develop for the people we need mechanisms of re-integration, and it is not surprising that individuals demand for themselves new forms of integration as a reaction to tendencies of disintegration. It is obvious that sports are in a position to provide such a system of integration, providing support in many respects; and it is certainly not coincidental that organised sports with all their offers and organisational structures continuously tie people to themselves. This process has never been stopped within the past 50 years, quite the contrary, it is still enjoying growth.

The second feature is rationalisation. Rationalisation in the sense of modernising society is primarily reflected in the people’s foundations and motives for their actions, which increasingly moved away from value-based rational decisions and turning instead towards purpose-based ones. Ethics and values based on convictions are gradually replaced by functional efficiency-oriented considerations. Input-output calculations take the place of keeping to principles and an orientation towards values. This may be observed in sports as well as in the media, in education and in every-day life.

The third feature is “economisation”. In the course of rationalisation we recognise the increasing dominance of economic rationality which defines a personal maximisation of advantages and profits as the highest goal. Cost and effect calculations are becoming the foundations for orientation in almost all fields of life. More and more areas of every-day life are being made subject to capital and are marketed. Areas of the people’s privacy as well as the periods of childhood and adolescence are increasingly affected. Taking advantage of privileges and subsequently leaving the solidarity community is becoming a common feature of every-day practice.

A specific feature of modernity is the increasing regulation of hierarchies and power among the members of a society by laws, consequently leading to a comprehensive expansion of the legal system. This urge to legally regulate everything is reaching all fields of life, particularly the private, social and cultural sectors of our society.

The growing dominance of the media can be described as another process of modernisation especially supporting an accelerating growth of information technology and the respective industry; traditional media form a symbiosis with new media, new channels of transmission are developed, the media reach every area of life, and the mass media in our society more and more decisively define what is relevant and what is not.

The increasingly important role of science does not only become apparent where scientists function as experts and umpires – for example in court – it is also recognisable in politics, the media and the economy. Science decides on effect and truth, and particularly in political decisions science is used to legitimise action.

Finally globalisation is to be characterised as a development with manifold consequences. Globalisation has its roots in industrial enterprises. The term indicates changes and an increase of cross-border activities. While initially production, the supply of materials, marketing and financing were in the focus, today we also observe the transfer of information, goods, services and know-how. Impressive indicators of this process of globalisation are foreign direct investments, international co-operation at company level, the changing structures and patterns of international trade as well as the globalisation of financial markets.

Sports and television – a lucrative relationship

On the background of these modernisation processes the increasing importance of sports and television in general and athletics and television in particular are logical and understandable developments. On this basis, and I mention that I only speak about athletics, the relationship between athletics and television seems to be very lucrative. The reasons for this are manifold. Our modern society has its positive sides, but the people living in this society also experience loss; and it seems that experiences of loss made by the people in this society can be compensated in an almost ideal way through athletics programs on TV.

In our present society we face the problem of more and more bureaucracy and boredom at the workplace. In their free time people want excitement, thrill and risk, and this is exactly what is satisfied without taking any risks by athletics programs on TV. People watching a 400m race in athletics on TV do not take any risks, but their desire for excitement is ideally satisfied.

Moreover we can recognise an increasing lack of understanding and a growing intellectualisation. In the face of this situation more and more people are looking for clearness and correctness. What is clearer, more concrete and easier to illustrate than athletics, which through the definition of its rules can be relatively easily comprehended by everybody?

Some societies also display a tendency away from the transcendental, which can be seen in the disappearance of religiousness and of the divine. Even in this respect athletics provide support for the people, as a substitute religion seems to have developed in the adoration and idolatry of athletics heroes, which – on the other hand – however, also appears to show features of transitoriness.

Another complex social problem is to be seen in the increasing dampening of emotions as well as the rejection of the physical and the body, which is expressed in the dominance of cognitive elements and knowledge. Athletics permit and even demand emotions. This becomes particularly evident in athletics transmissions, which places emotions in the foreground through picture and sound. In addition, modern society suffers from a loss of communal spirit, which is countered in athletics themselves and in athletics programs on TV by experiences supporting and enhancing a sense of community, closeness and opportunities for identification. Differentiation and specialisation caused by the modernisation process interfere with social intercourse and communication among people. Athletics provide an ideal topic for communication in our every-day lives, at work, at school or when meeting friends.

Finally we have to mention the biographical disparities which have to be considered normal in modern societies. Athletics, in contrast, through continuous exercise and lasting interest offer biographical fixed points in the people’s lives.

This lucrative relationship between athletics and television generates many winners: athletics with their associations and athletes, TV providers with their sports journalists, sports rights agencies, the advertising industry, and last but not least the TV viewers.
The following diagram gives a survey illustrating the positive effects for all those participating in this relationship.

However, lucrative relationships may also be problematical relationships, and consequently we must take into consideration that the relationship between athletics and the media will not enjoy an unproblematic and conflict-free future.

Athletics and television – an unproblematic future is unlikely

The problems the relationship between athletics and television will have to face can be shown with the example of the development of demographic data. In addition to a steady decrease of the population in all northern European countries we can also observe the ageing of these societies. According to prognoses the proportion of 60 year-old people will be almost 40 per cent in the year 2020. The questions athletics as well as television will be confronted with deal with the treatment of this new distribution of age groups.

Another factor to be considered is the ethnic mixture of societies, which is growing continuously every year. Consequently the ethnic and cultural blending of society is inevitable on the one hand, but on the other hand it is also desirable from an economic point of view . Television as well as athletics must be aware of this process in order to be able to take the right perspective in planning and managing the future. And the changing role and participation of women in our society will have its effects on both systems, athletics as well as television. Rightly women have long entered into all positions offered by our society.

Thus obvious problems are to be recognised in the system of athletics as well as in the system of television. Concerning the athletics system we can point out the following development problems:
• The gap between the poor and the rich in the system of sports is widening.
• The gap between the rich and the poor within the various disciplines of athletics is getting wider, too.
• There is an aimless or diffuse increase of different athletics activities, while at the same time stadium athletics are in jeopardy.
• High performance athletics seems to have a problem legitimising itself which seems less and less soluble.
• The risks in the system of athletics are increasing, and especially the funding of clubs and associations is affected by this trend.
• The actual economic foundation of athletics – voluntary unpaid commitment of individuals – is increasingly jeopardised.
• The generation contract in the athletics associations has become fragile and unstable.
• In some societies e.g. in Europe the most important resource “successful athlete” is no longer secure.
• Athletics as consumer goods with their diverse disciplines are becoming disposable throw-away goods.
• Athletics are losing their ethical and moral foundations.
• Athletics are losing their authenticity.
• The discrepancy between the actual or real motives for practising athletics on the one hand and the motives displayed by the media on the other hand is becoming increasingly problematic.

No less critical is the situation with regard to television. In this respect the system of television shows the following problems in its development:
• The inundation of information causes an excess of information, thus increasing the proportion of information that is not consumed.
• The information overload generates effects concerning the distribution of knowledge within a society. People of a higher social status and/or a higher educational standard take in information faster than those with a lower educational standard and/or those who belong to the lower classes. The already existing knowledge gap between intellectual elites and the uninformed is widening.
• The internet provides both TV networks as well as recipients or viewers with a hitherto uncontrolled medium.
• The orientation towards viewer rating leads to a “mass” medium. However, mass always implies an orientation towards mediocrity, which in turn means predominantly quantity and only rarely quality.
• Social inequality will increase as a result of pay-TV and pay-per-view offers.

What is to be said as a conclusion in the face of this analysis? Recipes for the solution of these problems are currently not at hand. The most important maxim for the operation of both systems is certainly to be seen in the achievement principle, which, however, has been questioned for quite some time by the systems themselves. If an achievement principle really became effective in both systems, both of them would have to be asked to take the offensive regarding the quality of their work. The core of such an offensive would have to be an upgrading program for all sides involved. An offensive in training and further qualification has become an absolute must in this respect. In order to give the relationship between athletics and television a positive and successful shape in the future, co-operation between the competitors in both systems, athletics as well as television, and between the two systems is essential.

Only if the competitors constructively co-operate, a co-operation which, however, would have to beased on contracts, only then may we expect some of the described problems to be solved to the advantage of all sides involved. There is no doubt about it, we do have a chance to enrich the profitable relationship with a new quality.