The Modern Evolution of the Sports Media Landscape and Its Impact
Open Access
Author:
Griffin, Connor
Area of Honors:
Journalism
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
John R Affleck, Thesis Supervisor Russell Edgar Eshleman, Jr., Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
sports sports media espn politics streaming social media football basketball
Abstract:
The traditional sports media landscape underwent a massive transition in the second half of the 2010s, due to a number of disruptors impacting the industry. Some of those disruptors continue to change the landscape today, with politics, streaming television, and social media being among the most prominent. Throughout this thesis, traditional sports television outlets (such as ESPN, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, etc.) will be examined on how they’ve reacted to these recent disruptors, and specific case studies will be pulled to further explore their responses.
Additionally, this thesis will observe how consumers have been impacted by these changes in the industry. Between researching audience tendencies and surveying university students, the goal of this text is to detail where the sports media landscape currently lies in regards to the disruptors above, as well as how consumer attitudes towards these developments could dictate the direction of the industry moving forward.