Roles of Media in Sport Development

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Conceptual Framework Sports.

Sports are regarded as one of the world’s most powerful communication tools, as a result of its near universal appeal, convening power and its many associations. Ihediwe (1997) defined sports as highly formalized and organized physical activity of high intensity regulated by acceptable rules and regulations and which require maximum physical and mental exertion. Hornby (2001) defined sports as outdoor or indoor game, competition, or activity carried on by rules and needing bodily effort and skill. Ugwueze (2005) defined sports as all organized physical or mental activities with rules and regulations, carried out indoors or outdoors whether at amateur or professional level requiring physical or mental exertion. Douglass (2008) viewed sports as an organized competitive, entertaining and skillful activity, requiring commitment, strategy and fair play in which a winner can be defined by objectives means.

Sports have become globally acknowledgment as a potential tool for national and economic development. Awosika (2003) described sports as a unifying factor in Nigeria and also an essential ingredient for nation building. Nations of the World therefore endeavour to utilize the potentials in sports to enhance the attainment of their respective development activities. Sports in this study, is an individual or group activity pursued for exercise or pleasure, often involving the testing of physical capabilities and taking the form of a competitive game.

2.2 Sports Development.

Sports development is a well organized training programme or plan for sports. The Federal Republic of Nigeria Sports Development Policy (1989) defined sports development as the process of continuous improvement of the sport structure, institutions and programmes in order to create a societal condition conducive to physical fitness for all and the effective functioning and self–actualization. The 1989 policy, categorizes sports development under the following components; International sports, Indigenous sports, Stadium management, Federations sports and Institutional sports. Collins (1995) defined sports development as the processes whereby effective opportunities, processes, systems and structures are set up to enable and encourage people in all or particular group or area to take part in sports and recreation or improve their performance to whatever level they desire. Also it is a process of establishment of pyramidal sports development programmes, employment and training of enthusiastic coaches, provision of functional facilities, promotion of public awareness through well organized seminars, conferences, and workshops, as well as training and re – orientation of sports managers who are knowledgeable, experienced and competent (Kabido, 1993; 1996 Kabido, Venkateswarlu and Adeyanu 2002). The authors maintained that one of the determinants of sports development is a well organized training programme or plan for sports.

A well–developed training programme would enable the growing number of athletic talents from the grassroots to achieve and acquire perfection from amateurs to professionals. According to Emiola (1999), to ensure large pool of competitive athletes for future national and international engagements, efforts must be made to develop a strategic training plan that must be used to expose more of the youths to the learning of the basic skills of various sports. Shietima (2005) claimed that development must involve a movement from the old to the new and implies that this is progressive. Sports development is about creating new and better ways of doing things in sports. In Nigeria, sports development had witnessed a lot of metamorphosis from the colonial pre–independence to independence eras (Morakinyo and Aluko 2008). Therefore, in this study, sports development is defined as the process of using media as a system and structure to enable and encourage provision of sports facilities, personnel development, funding of sports, sports awareness, people participation and sports sponsorship in a particular group or area to participate in sports or to improve their performances.

2.3 Media.

However, media impact on sports development globally cannot be overemphasized. Free online encyclopedia (2011) defined media as the broadcast or storage media that take advantage of electronic technology which include television, radio, digital video disc (DVD) internet, compact disc read only memory (CD – ROM) and many other media that required electricity or digital encoding of information. According to Indiana University Policy (2012) Media is defined as any device that used to store or record electronic information, including but not limited to hard disks, magnetic tapes, compact disks, videotapes, handheld electronic devices and removable storages devices such as floppy disks and zip disks. While Finance dictionary.com (2012) opined that media is any type of device that stores and allows distribution or use of electronic information. This includes television, radio, internet, fax, CD-ROMs, DVD and any other electronic medium. In this study, therefore media is regarded as the media such as television and radio that use electromechanical energy to enable an encourage provision of sports facilities, personnel development, funding of sports, creation of sports awareness, encouraging people participation and attracting sports sponsorship in a particular group or area to participate in sports or improve their performance.

2.4 Effect of Media on Sports Development.

Sports and the media have coexisted since the advent of newspapers, onto radio and through into television. In 1996, the Centennial Olympic Games which were hosted by Atlanta Georgia attracted almost quarter million people and media representatives to the city to enjoy the gala. It was estimated that an additional 1.5 billion people watched the games through network and cable television (Marketing Matters, 1996). Verveer (2001) stated that the Sydney Olympic were broadcast to 220 countries and territories, making them the most-watched television sports event in history. However, it was “the growth of television as a significant cultural form during the 1960’s that put the relationship between sport and the media on the public agenda” (Norman, 2002). Television increased the influence upon sports because of its accessibility to the mass population. According to Ping and Chiung (2009) the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games hosted every four years, attracts billions of viewers and listeners who enjoy the competitions through media.

Kienka (1990) posited that the efforts of the mass media have been boosted by the establishment of sports unit by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) which gets and disseminate to the media housed the latest sports news from all over the world. This was because of the performance of the Nigeria’s amateur boxers at the Los-Angeles Olympic Games in 1984, the World Cup soccer victories of Nigeria’s under 17 and 21 teams and the showing of Nigerian leading athletes at the World Universities Games. Mensah (1996) posited that if one take a retrospective look at the origin and growth of television stations in Africa, the first thing to be observed is that they virtually came into existence after independence. Sports have become an important from of entertainment nowadays, there are more TV channels now than ten years ago and as a result, the growth of television sport has accelerated. It is important to note that recently people have developed interest in sport through sports broadcasting and because of televised sport; fewer people attend live football matches. People prefer to watch live telecast comfortably at their homes instead of travelling to stadium. According to Val (2010) sporting events are becoming more popular with television viewers, enabling sports fans to develop a greater degree of understanding of a wider range of sports. The author mentioned the roles of television on sports such as funding and sponsorship, the best spectator sports for television will be those that attract a large live audience at the event, consequently attracting sponsorship and funding, just like in any other venture. Successful athletes, and awareness, after all the doom and gloom, people are usually subjected to television screen watching so many talented and dedicated sports athletes striving to and achieve their dreams representing their country.

According to Goldlust (1987), between 1960-1972 there was 65 percent increase in sports television net-work in North America, producing twelve hundred to fifteen hundred home sports per-week, which represented approximately 15 percent of the total programming time. Similarly, Goldlust (1987) reported that in Britain, sports in recent years had represented about 15 percent of all the out–put on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The author further stated that available figures for the 1970s indicated that throughout the developed world, television services devoted less than 5 percent of their broadcast time to sports. Furthermore, trends indicate that sports programming is on the increase, facilitated greatly, recently developed more comprehensive and cost efficient transmission technologies.

Kienka (1990) posisted that Nigeria television stations were said to have increased viewership for their sports programmes, commenting further, the author observed that television had even had greater impact in raising international engagements to a national phenomenon. For example, the boxing matches involving Nigerians at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984 were better appreciated because many Nigerian had the opportunity to watch them on their screens. Contributing further Kienka (1990) stated that when some of the star amateur boxers like Jeremiah Okorodudu, Charles Nwokolo, and Christopher Ossai turned professional, their fights became instant sellout. The same could be said about under – 23 Olympic Games soccer team of 1996. Because it was possible to watch every match of the team on television live, many Nigerians got so involved and inspired, that donations from Companies and individuals in appreciation of their performance kept pouring in after the team had returned home.

Funding of sports services is an essential factor in the promotion and development of sports in every nation. If sports programmes are to be organized consistently and continuously, it should ensure that there is adequate and continuous generation of funds for sports through proper budgeting (Kabido, 1996). According to Mackenzie (2006), Sporting organization require finance for running events and competitions, promotion and development, sports facilities,

 

everyday running cost, training facilities sports scholarships and salaries. Organizations can raise money from fund – raising activities but most will require financial help from outside sources. Elendu and Deemua (2009), since Nigeria government allocation for sports is inadequate considering the economic recession and demands from other sectors of the economy, the need for sports organizers to scout for where and how to get both financial and material assistance for sports development outside government arises. One of the means of getting the necessary resources and assistance for sports development is through sponsors, especially corporate firms.

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