Sports Isn't Free

It is no shocker to everyone these days our world of sports television is growing rapidly. You can't turn on the TV without at least flipping by sports programming. Even non sport stations like TBS, CNN, and HBO all give extensive time to sports every day. Now with new sports stations on the rise, questions are being raised on the effect of new sports channels on the market as a whole.

In an article released on Reuters this week, discussion is being brought to the table by one of televisions most powerful men. Chairman and CEO of Comcast Brian Roberts is worried about the rising cost to viewers from all the new sports media appearing on cable television. Comcast is in a unique position because not only do they hold the nations largest cable company, but they own a regional sports network and the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Fliers.

Roberts says in the article "I think we should have a dialogue on each team starting their own channel, every league starting their own channel, taking up a lot of bandwidth, a lot of consumer money...Everywhere out there you raise the question: who pays for that channel, and is that going to be all viewers or those who are sports fans?".

Roberts is bringing up questions in my opinion at the right time. We are on the verge of sports television explosion. We have discussed in class that the NHL is starting a new network to compete with the NFL network and NBA TV. The article says that the US Olympic committee is considering a television channel as well as several college outlets. In our region alone we are flooded with individual teams sports networks such as NESN, YES, Sports Net New York, MSG and so on.


How far are we away from every team having their own channel in every sport? Should there be a limit on the amount of new sports television stations? Can we go too far? Can they be profitable? And MOST importantly is it fair to the customers? While your Royal loving buddy Steve is loving the new Kansas City Baseball Network, who will pay? Cable companies will raise prices to offer more programming that your grandmother who loves knitting, not sports, will be forced to pay for.

I am interested to see what opinions everyone has about the possibility of being OVER saturated with sports television.

I think Brian Roberts should get a collective thank you from his customers and cable customers for starting this discussion. Clearly he is worried about the possibility of sky rocketing costs to his viewers, many who do not even watch sports.

KDKA loses Pirates broadcast

This story relates to our discussion this week about radio. KDKA Radio has been carrying Pittsburgh Pirates baseball broadcasts since 1921. But the team has dropped the old-school AM station in favor of a Clear Channel affiliate, ending one of the longest running broadcast partnerships in sports. Here's the story from the Pgh Post Gazette.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06256/721380-63.stm

Sports Role in post-9/11 Society


September 11, 2001 is a day that will remain forever embedded in the minds of all Americans as the day terrorism hit home and changed our lives forever. We all remember where we were, what we were doing and how we reacted. We also remember how we dealt with the tragedy.
Sports was one of the many coping devices Americans used to deal with the devastating attacks and, as a result, the deep social significance of sports in our culture was further revealed.
Our reading for this week discusses the coverage of sports in the print media, beginning with issues of sports journalism as a serious form of journalism. Wayne Wanta of the University of Missouri (Wanta 105) writes, “Newspaper editors often consider sports a necessary evil: Sports sections are among the most read, but sports are not viewed with the same respect as other newspaper staples, such as crime news, politics, and business. Add to this the impression held by many editors that sportswriters do not take themselves seriously and sometimes engage in ethically questionable practices, and it is no wonder that sports departments are often looked upon as the “toy department” of newsrooms.”
Although sports sections may have the knock of not being as “respectable” as hard news, 9/11 showed us that sports and society are tightly intertwined. Sports offered Americans a temporary escape from harsh reality of the attacks and a sense of return to “normal life” by taking in a game.
Flip Bondy, a contributing writer to MSNBC.com and a columnist for the New York Daily News summed up sports role in post-9/11 American society in his September 5 article "After 9/11, it was no longer 'just' sports “We could take the good from it, revel in the triumphs, forget any disappointment at our convenience. There were no real ramifications. It is why sports can bring us such comfort, when real life brings us such great pain. It is why they resumed the games in New York, after the planes hit.”
Baseball returned to New York on Sept. 21, 2001 with the Mets hosting the arch-rival Atlanta Braves. Mike Piazza, the heart and soul of the New York Mets, would provide fans with something to cheer about as he blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning that would prove to be the game winner.
"It is kind of an iconic moment," Piazza said as reported on www.mlb.com, "to say there's a beginning to the healing process, to try to get back to living our lives.” http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060906&content_id=1649210&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym
It was moments like this that were played out in stadiums all across the country that gave Americans a little relief from the heartache and a reason to join together and cheer. Sports gave Americans a temporary reprieve from the attacks and a chance to honor the men and women that lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
On Monday as we take time remember and honor the men and women who lost their lives five years ago we can also stir up the memories and images that helped us deal with the tragedies.
One of mine is Piazza’s home run against the Braves on the night baseball returned to New York.
What’s yours?