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 BOXING-

VOICE, 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