Men or Women, Only Five Olympic Sports Matter

Abstract

This study is a descriptive content analysis of National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC’s) prime-time broadcast coverage of the 2016 summer Olympic games. Olympic coverage is particularly important to the athletes of minor sports—including all women’s sports—because most receive little media attention beyond Olympic competition. The study found no evidence of sexism, but a clear lack of diversity in the sports covered, as NBC dedicated most of its prime time to superstars (Phelps, Biles, Bolt, Kerri Walsh, etc.) and unique stories and personalities (e.g., the Lochtegate and 74-year-old South African coach Botha).

Sport, gender, and national interest during the Olympics: A comparative analysis of media representations in Central and Eastern Europe

“…The broadcasters covered a wide range of sports during the Olympics, shaped by national interest The sports emphasized in this CEE region differed from those observed in other geopolitical contexts (Billings et al, 2021;Coche and Tuggle, 2018;Xu et al, 2019). Broadcasters in Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia each promoted their own nation, especially in sports that have a history of success and/or earned medals in Tokyo.…”

“…Media organizations marginalize women's sports in routine coverage, but highlight women's accomplishments when the athletes represent their nation (e.g. Bell and Coche, 2020;Bruce, 2016;Coche and Tuggle, 2018;Coche, 2022;Pavlidis et al, 2020), notably during the Olympics. The sports vary depending on the context, but generally women have to be successful and win medals to receive attention (Billings and Angelini, 2019;Braumüller et al, 2020;Xu et al, 2019).…”

“…For example, in the U.S. context, scholars found that agenda setting process is shaped by nationalism and gender ideology, specifically that "national focus (and the 'follow the medals' mind-set it imbues) could be resulting in increased women's salience as well as clock time" (Billings and Angelini, 2019: 554). On NBC, 98% of the prime-time coverage of women's sports during the Rio 2016 Olympics focused on socially acceptable sports of gymnastics, track and field, swimming, diving, and beach volleyball (Coche and Tuggle, 2018). In the German context, the focus on athletics, aquatics and gymnastics could be attributed to the "Olympic tradition and tournament mode," as the narrow visualization of sports that fit into culturally appropriate forms of femininity reflects the role of gender ideology in the agenda setting process, while success had very little relevance (Braumüller et al, 2020: 332).…”

“…In fact, women received a high number of posts only in the Olympic context. In this CEE context, the success criteria applied to women's sports even outside of socially acceptable associations of femininity, such as taekwondo and judo-sports that were featured minimally or not at all in Western European, US, and Australian sports media (Braumüller et al, 2020;Coche and Tuggle, 2018;Rojas-Torrijos and Ramon, 2021;Xu et al 2019) and also rarely appeared in routine media coverage in this region (e.g. Ličen and Bejek, 2019).…”

#Selfies With a Mask On: Comparing Self-Presentation of Athletes From the U.S. and China in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

“…For instance, male athletes are often portrayed as powerful and dominant, whereas female athletes are frequently characterized by their family roles (e.g., mother, wife; McGannon et al, 2012). Also, instead of focusing on sportswomen’s athletic achievements, mass media tend to feature female athletes more in gender-appropriate sports (e.g., beach volleyball and gymnastics; Coche & Tuggle, 2018), passive action (Fink & Kensicki, 2002), and suggestive manners (Bruce, 2016). Although some progress has been observed in recent years, sports media have been widely criticized for depreciating sportswomen’s athletic compliments and therefore reinforcing male hegemony in the sports domain (Bruce, 2016).…”