The Political Economy of Sports Media

Commodity

A product that is bought and sold.

Commodification

The process of turning something into a product that can be bought and sold.

Media

The platform/technology for disseminating/communicating information (ideas, thoughts, values, and/or feelings).

Traditional Mass Media

Includes print, cinema, and broadcast media.

New Mass Media

Refers to digital platforms.

Reithian Principles of Broadcasting

The three principles stating that media should inform, educate, and entertain.

Mediasport

A compound word capturing the unavoidable connections between media and sport.

Karl Marx

A theorist who argued that a society’s economy directly shapes its other elements.

Political Economy

The intersection of politics and economics, examining the relationships between political institutions, economic systems, and broader social structures.

Late Capitalism

The current stage of capitalism characterized by the production and consumption of cultural products.

Spectacularization

The production of sport events as entertainment-focused spectacles designed to generate high volume of spectators and viewers.

Financialization

The increasing trend of sport becoming a target for investment capital and subject to financial motives.

Commercialization

Structuring an institution primarily for the purpose of generating profit in the consumer marketplace.

Celebritization

The process of creating sport celebrities who reflect cultural values.

Digitalization

The increased use of digital technologies for communication and marketing in sports.

Mediasport Cycle

The interconnected processes of corporatization, commercialization, spectacularization, celebritization, digitalization, and financialization in sport.