5. Sports and Television (Sports and Media‪)‬

Television has clearly become the leading medium in the context of sports. Like the radio, this medium allows live reporting, but because it transmits not only sound but also live images, the feeling of "being there" is even stronger for television spectators than for radio listeners. So, with television, major sporting contests are no longer available just to spectators witnessing the event in person, but also to many millions more who can view the spectacle in their own homes, thanks to their television sets. The added value stemming from this medium is evident: close-ups, replays, slow motion, the different angles from different cameras, and cameras that follow the action. It can be more exciting to be a spectator in front of the television screen than to be a spectator in the stadium, far away from the playing field or the arena floor. And, what is most important, television shows live people, sports-men and -women, usually perfectly built, completely fit, attractive, and highly trained young people. The "menage a trois"--i.e. sports, media, and advertising--produces a highly marketable service: show-business. Due to added values--stemming from dramatization, reporting skills, and broadcasting itself--televised sports reaches more individuals than does on-site sports. "The phenomenon of mass consumerism of televised sport has created a much different feel for sport than in the past." (Rinehart, 1994, p. 25). Combining show elements with competition, television has even created a sport of its own, i.e., "American Gladiators." Television is also backing and profiting from "WWF" and "XFL," i.e., the World Wrestling Federation and a curious hybrid of American Football and professional wrestling. From a non-American point of view it is interesting to see that the WWF and the World Series both claim a label for something that is anything but spread worldwide.