Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business Series Editors: Professor Petros Iosifidis, Professor Jeanette Steemers and Professor Gerald Sussman Editorial Board: Sandra Braman, Peter Dahlgren, Terry Flew, Charles Fombad, Manuel Alejandro Guerrero, Alison Harcourt, Robin Mansell, Richard Maxwell, Toby Miller, Zizi Papacharissi, Stylianos Papathanassopoulos, Caroline Pauwels, Robert Picard, Kiran Prasad, Marc Raboy, Chang Yong Son, Miklos Suksod, Kenton T. Wilkinson, Sugmin Youn This innovative series examines the wider social, political, economic and techno- logical changes arising from the globalization of the media and communications industries and assesses their impact on matters of business practice, regulation and policy. Considering media convergence, industry concentration, and new communications practices, the series makes reference to the paradigmatic shift from a system based on national decision-making and the traditions of public ser- vice in broadcast and telecommunications delivery to one that is demarcated by commercialization, privatization and monopolization. Bearing in mind this shift, and based on a multi-disciplinary approach, the series tackles three key questions: To what extent do new media developments require changes in regulatory philos- ophy and objectives? To what extent do new technologies and changing media consumption require changes in business practices and models? And to what extent does privatization alter the creative freedom and public accountability of media enterprises? Steven Barnett & Judith Townend (editors) MEDIA POWER AND PLURALITY From Hyperlocal to High-Level Policy Abu Bhuiyan INTERNET GOVERNANCE AND THE GLOBAL SOUTH Demand for a New Framework Benedetta Brevini PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING ONLINE A Comparative European Policy Study of PSB 2.0 Karen Donders, Caroline Pauwels and Jan Loisen (editors) PRIVATE TELEVISION IN WESTERN EUROPE Content, Markets, Policies Tim Dwyer CONVERGENT MEDIA AND PRIVACY Tom Evens, Petros Iosifidis and Paul Smith THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TELEVISION SPORTS RIGHTS Terry Flew, Petros Iosifidis and Jeanette Steemers GLOBAL MEDIA AND NATIONAL POLICIES The Return of the State Manuel Guerrero and Mireya Márquez-Ramírez (editors) MEDIA SYSTEMS AND COMMUNICATION POLICIES IN LATIN AMERICA Petros Iosifidis GLOBAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION POLICY An International Perspective John Lent and Michelle Amazeen (editors) KEY THINKERS IN CRITICAL COMMUNICATION SCHOLARSHIP From the Pioneers to the Next Generation Michael Starks THE DIGITAL TELEVISION REVOLUTION Origins to Outcomes Peggy Valcke, Miklos Sükösd and Robert Picard (editors) MEDIA PLURALISM AND DIVERSITY Concepts, Risks and Global Trends Tim Dwyer CONVERGENT MEDIA AND PRIVACY Terry Flew, Petros Iosifidis and Jeanette Steemers (editors) GLOBAL MEDIA AND NATIONAL POLICIES The Return of the State Mike Milne THE TRANSFORMATION OF TELEVISION SPORT New Methods, New Rules Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business Series Standing Order ISBN 978–1–137–27329–1 (hardback) 978–1–137–36718–1 (paperback) (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England The Transformation of Television Sport New Methods, New Rules Mike Milne Media Executive, UK THE TRANSFORMATION OF TELEVISION SPORT © Mike Milne 2016 Foreword © Petros Iosifidis 2016 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2016 978-1-137-55910-4 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 2016 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004-1562. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. ISBN 978–1–349–71904–4 E-PDF ISBN: 978–1–137–55911–1 DOI: 10.1057/9781137559111 Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave Macmillan®, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library. To Annette and Zoë, my anchor and inspiration, who kindly tolerate my grumpiness when Chelsea lose This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Figures and Tables ix Foreword by Petros Iosifidis x Acknowledgements xii List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xiii 1 Introduction 1 2History 13 2.1 Sport and television in United States and UK 1945 to 1970 14 2.2 Free-markets, commercialism, sport and television in United States and UK 1970 to 1995 23 2.3 The rise of the global televised-sport event 32 2.3.1 The transformation of the Olympics 32 2.3.2 The commercialisation of the FIFA World Cup Finals 35 2.3.3 The NBA, sports marketing and globalisation 38 2.3.4 UEFA Champions League, embedded sponsorship and output control 39 3 Technology 44 3.1 Transmission technology 45 3.2 Production technology, the analogue paradigm 50 3.3 Digital production technology arrives 56 3.4 Contemporary digital production technology and workflows 60 3.5 Output: significantly increased volume and scope 68 3.5.1 Core production 69 3.5.2 Full content service 69 3.5.3 Archive-based content 71 3.5.4 Digital production 71 3.5.5 Distribution 72 vii viii Contents 4 Sports broadcasting rights 75 4.1 What is intellectual property and what is it for? 77 4.2 How has copyright law developed and how it is connected to the market? 78 4.3 Sports broadcasting rights, changing values and definitions 80 4.4 Broadcasting rights and prescriptive practices, examples from Formula 1 and the UEFA Champions League 92 5 Regulation 104 5.1 The list of protected events 107 5.2 The Premier League 111 5.3 The UEFA Champions League 114 5.4 Ofcom, UK market regulation 117 5.5 Regulating content production 119 5.6 Regional and independent production quotas 121 5.7 Transfer of Undertakings Regulations (TUPE) 122 6 Broadcasters and media providers 127 6.1 Commercial performance and market polarisation 127 6.2 Federation-run host broadcast operations 137 6.3 More scope, less criticism; even more media, and coverage versus presentation 146 7 Independent sports television production 158 7.1 The UK independent sports production sector 159 7.2 Live television sports production, creativity or prescription? 164 7.3 Commissioning content 167 7.4 The trend towards specialisation in sports production 174 7.5 The rise of production management 179 8 Conclusion 186 References 198 Index 206 Figures and Tables Figures 1.1 Policy, technology, economics and regulation 3 1.2 Willingness to pay in sports broadcasting rights 8 1.3 Vertical supply chain 8 3.1 Six camera plan for football 53 3.2 Host to Licensee pathway 61 3.3 Typical HBP PL Camera Plan 63 3.4 Typical PLP signal path, from PL Stadia to Licensee 64 3.5 Indicative digital workflow 66 Tables 2.1 Summer Olympics, US broadcasting rights fees 21 4.1 PL Broadcasting Rights Values 2013–2016 82 4.2 Rising PL Broadcasting Rights Values 83 4.3 Overseas revenue for Premier League rights 85 4.4 Illustrative categories for sports rights 89 4.5 Reconstructed MRO for UCL Pre-Match 100 5.1 Protected List of Events (Groups A and B) 110 ix Foreword Over the last couple of decades, one of the most significant trends in the global audiovisual market has been the growth of sports coverage. This has gone hand in hand with the general commercialisation of sport and has developed at an ever increasing pace since the worldwide liberali- sation of audiovisual markets. Hence, the growing number of works – though still limited – that emphasise the triadic relationship between sports, the media and corporate interests. Mike Milne’s comprehen- sive book examines fundamental changes to the television sport supply chain by tackling increasingly influential upstream activities – technol- ogy, broadcasting rights and regulation – together with the downstream impact of transformations on broadcasters, media providers, indepen- dent sports, independent production companies and the day-to-day work of producers and directors, the final intermediaries. The role of technology in increasing the volume and scope of sports content that can be produced and distributed is reviewed but the author is careful to avoid technological determinism. The volume also takes a historical perspective. Alongside consider- ing the incursion of marketing and promotional strategies it addresses a gap in the political economy coverage of television sport by compar- ing the various technological, economic and political developments in the US and UK since WWII. It also considers copyright and intellec- tual property; it focuses on the role of regulation from national and international level broadcasting policies such as the list of protected events; it deals with a range of challenges now faced by broadcasters and media providers including the growing competition for the acquisi- tion of broadcasting rights, and identifies crucial trends in independent sports production.