International exploration of professional sports and media

Professional sports and media are closely linked. The media respond to the public’s interest in professional sports and at the same time contributes to the popularity of top sports. The social value of top-level sports can be influenced by the media in different ways. Ecorys conducted an international exploration of the relationship between top-level sport and the media in five countries on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

The international exploration maps the relationship between media, professional sports and public policy of five countries. The report, which examines the situation in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Japan, highlights the important role of media in enhancing the social value of top-level sport.

Background

Professional sport is of great social value to the Netherlands, and the media influences our perception and experience. There are many international developments in the field of sports and media. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport wants to gain insight into how the media have an impact on increasing the social value of top-level sport in other countries.

The focus of the research is on the organisation of the media and professional sport in the countries, the role of the government, and the influence on the social value of professional sport. Social value in this study is expressed in terms of visibility and reach. For each country, based on a desk study and both exploratory and in-depth interviews, case studies were conducted and general conclusions were drawn, which were then translated to the Dutch context.

Key Findings

From the study a number of findings emerge about the social value of the organization of professional sports and the organization of media around these. Some insights from the exploration include the following:

• Professional sport has great social value in all the countries studied, both when government involvement is high and when the government has a limited role. This is because social value can be created by both public and commercial parties. This impact is dependent on the historical, political and cultural context of a country.
• The way the media are organized affects the accessibility, popularity and reach of professional sports. In all countries studied, except the United States, there is a combination of public broadcasters and commercial channels broadcasting professional sports. This is sometimes regulated by the government, for example through an event list.
• The fragmentation of the media landscape is increasing; streaming services and social media with sports-related content are becoming more popular in all countries. The exploration shows that these media forms (streaming services and social media) contribute to an increase in viewing figures for sports games and events.

The international exploration has formulated action perspectives to increase the social value of professional sport, where direct government influence through legislation is limited, but promotion of initiatives through cooperation with public and private media parties is possible. Further research is needed to translate these insights into concrete measures that fit with the ministry’s broader goals of sport, media and social value. The report detailing our findings can be found on the central government website.

For more information and a full overview of the results, read the full research report (Dutch).