During the 1990s and early 2000s media corporations invested at unprecedented
levels in sporting coverage and team/league ownership, particularly as
pay television companies became global entities and media corporations sought cheap and ready-made programming.2 In the case of rugby league this led to one
media corporation virtually buying the entire sport globally. In rugby union the
result was near immediate professionalisation, while in soccer greater media
ownership fostered expanding pan-European competitions, premier leagues and
the concentration of wealth among high profile European clubs to the detriment
of smaller clubs in Europe and leading clubs in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, for example, almost succeeded in adding the
world’s best known sports brand, Manchester United, to his stable of sports and
clubs.3 Soon afterwards, however, United formed a marketing partnership with
the USA’s most successful franchise, the New York Yankees, to synergise the
global marketing strategies of these two brands.
Sports and sporting events have become integral components of a global
political economy, which has seen production shift from developed to less
developed societies and an expanding focus in the developed world on the
‘branding’, ‘theming’ and consumption of image and lifestyle.4 From the
restyling of individual matches as entertainment extravaganzas to specialised
tournaments like the Olympic Games, sporting competitions have become
spectacles as they compete with other leisure activities for the consumer dollar.
In addition, these large-scale events have become key factors in local and
national development strategies. In this process traditional sports fans, local
communities and democratic practices are often ignored as growth is promoted,
and business and governments align in support of events-driven economies.
During the 1990s and early 2000s media corporations invested at unprecedented
levels in sporting coverage and team/league ownership, particularly as
pay television companies became global entities and media corporations sought cheap and ready-made programming.2 In the case of rugby league this led to one
media corporation virtually buying the entire sport globally. In rugby union the
result was near immediate professionalisation, while in soccer greater media
ownership fostered expanding pan-European competitions, premier leagues and
the concentration of wealth among high profile European clubs to the detriment
of smaller clubs in Europe and leading clubs in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, for example, almost succeeded in adding the
world’s best known sports brand, Manchester United, to his stable of sports and
clubs.3 Soon afterwards, however, United formed a marketing partnership with
the USA’s most successful franchise, the New York Yankees, to synergise the
global marketing strategies of these two brands.
Sports and sporting events have become integral components of a global
political economy, which has seen production shift from developed to less
developed societies and an expanding focus in the developed world on the
‘branding’, ‘theming’ and consumption of image and lifestyle.4 From the
restyling of individual matches as entertainment extravaganzas to specialised
tournaments like the Olympic Games, sporting competitions have become
spectacles as they compete with other leisure activities for the consumer dollar.
In addition, these large-scale events have become key factors in local and
national development strategies. In this process traditional sports fans, local
communities and democratic practices are often ignored as growth is promoted,
and business and governments align in support of events-driven economies.
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