September 2nd Weekly Post

The first thing going on in sports media this week that interests me is TCU’s win against UNC in the first football game of the season. This fits with what we discussed in class because last class, we discussed if sports media is to inform people or to entertain people. One girl in class said that she believes it is for entertainment because the example that she gave was how all she knew about UNC’s football coach was that he is dating a 24-year old. For that being the only information she knew, clearly the media is giving her entertainment in terms of hearing the “gossip” rather than the facts about who he is as a coach or person. Another thing in sports media that I found interesting was how the four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome suffered a life threatening heart injury in a crash. I never think about things like biking in sports, but I was curious to read about him and what happened. This also goes with entertainment or informing, because here is an example of it doing both. Things that I found interesting from the required readings is how sports streaming is splintered everywhere. Even though ESPN and Fox are launching their own services, fans still need more to watch all major events. Instead of simplifying access, it’s becoming more confusing than cable ever was. Also, the bundles look like cable 2.0. ESPN and Fox offer a $39.99/month bundle, while Disney has its own bundles with Hulu, Disney+, and even NFL+. It feels like the industry is circling back to the old cable model, just broken into digital pieces. Lastly, the NFL is a power player in streaming. The NFL now owns a 10% stake in ESPN and gave ESPN control of NFL Network. That’s a big shift, sports leagues aren’t just selling broadcast rights anymore, they’re taking ownership stakes to lock in influence. My honest question for all of this is why? Sports takes over and makes things more complicated than it needs to be in the media.