The hybridization of sight in the hybrid architecture of sport: the effects of television on stadia and spectatorship

“Are Fans in the Stands an Afterthought?”: Sports Events, Decision-Aid Technologies, and the Television Match Official in Rugby Union

“…It goes against the notion of fairness and justice that all those in sport champion (Collins, 2010;Long et al, 2017;Malcolm & Fletcher, 2017;Ryall, 2012;Svantesson, 2014). It is another example of the inconsistency in event experience fans are subjected to and the impact mediatisation has had on the 'live' event experience (Cairns, 2015;Frandsen, 2014;Siegel, 2002;Turner, 2015). This impact is equally evident in the TMO's total reliance on images/camera angles supplied by the broadcaster and the use of a television feed to provide the images shown on stadia big screens.…”

“…Academic research on the mediatisation of sport covers an array of subjects, including mega-events, gender, race and ethnicity, national identity, celebrity and stardom, fanship and audience experience, journalism and the digital age, and these studies can be seen across varying academic fields such as sport, events, media, journalism, communication, cultural studies and sociology (Cairns, 2015;Dashper et al, 2015;Frandsen, 2014;Hutchins & Rowe, 2012Lawrence & Crawford, 2019;Real, 2013;Skey et al, 2018;van Driel et al, 2019;Billings & Wenner, 2017). Sport has become a central component of popular culture and economic, political and public discourse and the institutions of media and sport have converged to form a media sports cultural complex of global proportions with television playing a central role as an 'agent of change' (Frandsen, 2014, p.525).…”

“…Academic research on the mediatisation of sport covers an array of subjects, including mega-events, gender, race and ethnicity, national identity, celebrity and stardom, fanship and audience experience, journalism, and the digital age, and these studies can be seen across varying academic fields such as sport, events, media, journalism, communication, cultural studies, and sociology (Billings & Wenner, 2017;Cairns, 2015;Dashper et al, 2015;Frandsen, 2014;Hutchins & Rowe, 2012Lawrence & Crawford, 2019;Real, 2013;Skey et al, 2018;Van Driel et al, 2019).…”

“…To illustrate, such is the influence of media organisations, Olympic events are staged at a time to suit the American television networks, and the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies have included special effects only television viewers can see (Boyle, 2013;Cairns, 2015). Sporting fixtures that were traditionally played on a Saturday afternoon are now played on a day and at a time that suits broadcasters (Frandsen, 2014), while demand for an exciting product has resulted in sports, such as rugby league, changing their rules in an effort to speed up play, and cricket creating new, ever-shorter forms of the game (Malcolm & Fletcher, 2017).…”

“…The commodification and commercialisation of sport means that revenue generated from sponsorship and broadcast rights far outstrips that generated from ticket sales. The primary spectators, therefore, are not those in the stands but those at home in front of their screens (Cairns, 2015). Consequently, they get an enhanced "best seat" experience with a wider choice of viewing angles, commentary, statistics, and superimposed graphics (Sturm, 2015), as well as access to the full decision-making process when decision-aid technology is employed.…”