Sports Coverage on Television

When one thinks about American television, what do they think about? The answer is simple. Sports programming is American television. Who doesn’t watch the Super Bowl nowadays? On any given day or night, major networks such as CBS, Fox and ABC will most likely be hosting a sporting event and or sports programming.  There are so many sports programs on television at any given moment it is insane.  And all of these networks have multiple branches that focus on sports as well. We can view event programming (The Super Bowl), sports journalism shows  (ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, Outside The Lines), and sports fiction (Friday Night Lights and Remember The Titans) the list is endless. The modes of receiving sports info and coverage is only expanding. Is this good or bad for television?

As I read in chapter 5, Dan Brown and Jennings Bryant had illustrated that in 2003, 13 of the 30 top- rated television programs were sports content.  That says a lot about how much sport plays a role in our lives as Americans. One couldn’t imagine a life without sports on television today. Back in my grandparent’s day, they would listen to sports on the radio and be satisfied. Today we are beyond spoiled.  Every event that is televised seems to be spectacular. It is crazy to think about how much must go into each broadcast.  You have sports casters, cameramen, editors, advertisers etc. And it all comes together when we watch The Yankees or the Red Sox on their respective stations. Once April roles around, my butt is on the couch watching the Yankees on Yes.  (I am sure this is debatable amongst Yankee fans) But I love watching the games while Michael Kay and Ken Singleton do the play by play, and I couldn’t imagine Yankees baseball without them.

Today there are channels solely dedicated to a single sport.  People that purchase premium packages and cable, may receive channels such as the MLB Network and the NFL Network which dedicate their time strictly to that sport. I think this is a great thing. There are just so many outlets for sports especially on television.

Lets talk about football on TV. Football has become America’s sport and people want it all the time. It is wild to think that football is only played two days out of the week, but there is constant coverage of the sport all during the season. While reading chapter 5, it was evident that football is where it is at today. Advertisements collage each game. The prime demographics are watching the games. 

Televising sports is a way of life. From NASCAR to the NFL people want to see sports on television. Televised sport is entertainment. Each year sport on television gets better and more interactive than ever. I believe that television will remain the main outlet for viewing sports, because it has a true following. I understand people may watch sports from the laptops or computers, but sports money will probably stay dedicated with the television networks. 

Here, check this article out. This article mainly focuses on how people try to live vicariously through sports. Can television keep up with the emergence of new media? 

fans perspective on sports media

January 24, 2012 Knicks vs. Bobcats

From the second I turned this game on with a missed dunk from Shumpert, I immediately became frustrated. Maybe not frustrated so much, but it wasn't very surprising to me.  Not a minute later, Shumpert missed a lay up. As we have seen in recent years, this isn't very surprising to us Knicks fans. However; we seem to forget that the Knicks actually made the playoffs last season. So they aren't as bad as people make them out to be. This season they have a big addition in Tyson Chandler.

When looking at the Knicks squad, one would think that they would be a better team. Having Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony would mean that your team should be much better than 6 -10. Plagued by sloppy play all season, turnovers and the lack of teamwork has the Knicks fighting from behind in the Atlantic division.  Miraculously they aren't in terrible shape. The Knicks are in third place, but only one game behind the old dog Celtics. The Sixers are relatively hot this season with a record of 12-5 holding first place.

At the end of the first half, I have seen some productivity in communication and ball movement that I havent seen in a few weeks out of the Knicks. Much of the controversy surrounding the Knicks recently has involved the lack of play and fluidity of Stoudemire and Anthony on the court. Now, with a big man injured  in Harrelson, the Knicks need to step it up. Amare and Carmello each made statements this week concerning their lack of performance. They addressed the media and made comments that hope to help the Knicks move forward positively.


As the Knicks entered the fourth quarter they held about a twenty point lead on the struggling Bobcats. They had done something right on this night. Even though Melo only scored one point the entire game,they ended up winning the game 111- 78. This win allowed the Knicks to snap their 6 game losing streak. I am glad they won this game, now they might finally turn this next road trip around.

Tyson Chandler, the Knicks newest addition handled the scoring tonight. He dropped 20 points on the last place Bobcats. Good thing someone came to play tonight.

The Espn coverage was minimal of the game, but it briefly touched on the ongoing crisis going  concerning poor performance.  They mentioned the Knicks broke their losing streak, and that Melo only scored 1 point in the whole game, but he did have 11 rebounds and 4 assists.

"Sometimes defenses are going to load up on him because they understand he's our number one option," said Chandler. "So when they load up and he hits the open guy like he did tonight, we're still effective-- and he's still effective-- because of that.


All in all the team played well and took care of a team that should be taken care of. The Bobcats are clearly in a rebuilding stage, and at 3-18 on the season, the Knicks better have beaten them.