When watching a form of televised sport from start to finish, the first and last people usually seen are the presenters. Presenters are used to welcome people to the sport, bring a sense of order and formality, build tension and close the event, often with a personal opinion to help relate to the audience.
Presenters are often used in conjunction with experts and analysts, so that professional and personal perspectives can be given, but in such a way that the audience is able to link with what is said.
Additionally, presenters are used in televised sport to make events less formal and more friendly, acting as if the camera filming them was the viewer in person, so viewers are never left out: Emails and text messages of the audiences’ opinions are frequently read out on-air by the presenters, making the viewer even more personally involved in the event.
Des Lynam, Bobby Robson and Ally McCoist incorporated the ideas of the spectator, manager and football player in the Man-U – Real Madrid game, as each have experience in at least one of those areas, giving the audience a more authentic opinion of the match.
Viewers of the Brazilian Grand Prix experienced a similar set-up with three presenters (James Allen, Martin Brundell and Woise Goodman), who gave a combination of the expert’s and viewer’s opinions.
In the London Marathon, the presenters were a mix of previous runners and a general sport presenter to mix professional views.
Sports presenters create a lot of rivalry between television companies-their reputations can depend on who presents which sport. An example of this would be when Des Lynam was bought from the BBC to present on ITV.
Sometimes, experts report live from the event and the presenters in the studio have a satellite link with them. This makes the expert’s opinion appear more important than the presenter’s because they were at the event whilst the presenter watched the sport from the studio, so they experienced everything in a more personal way. Other times the whole event is broadcast from a studio in a spectator’s box at the actual venue. This means that both the experts and presenters are in the same room and both experience the event “first hand”.
The most vital part in the quality of televised sport coverage is the camera. Without sound the event would be dull, but without pictures there would obviously be no sport on television. Today, television cameras allow colour, multi-angle views, instant replays, close-ups, slow motion: the list is almost endless!
Although cameras are vital to television broadcasting, the positioning of the cameras is as equally important as their use: Nobody wants to watch a football match where they can’t see the ball, or to watch a snowboarding competition where it’s not possible to see the snowboarder! This is why many cameras are often used when televising sport and the best views are chosen by a director. Also, many satellite television companies give audiences the opportunity to select their preferred camera angle for watching sport.
Multi-angle replays and slow motion are used to show events that are easy to miss; whether it is a goal or a controversial decision by an official. More unusual camera positions, such as in footballs, competitors’ helmets, goals, snooker pockets, and cockpits of racing cars are also available. All of these functions maximise an audience’s experience by not only trying to make them feel like they are at the event, but making them feel like they are involved in it.
Computer information (i.e. player positions, scores/times etc.) is shown on screen in addition to images to ensure the audience know what is happening. Advertisements are now placed in and around the venue so that the camera will include them in its coverage, thus making money for the television companies.
The best view of the football pitch in the Man-U V. Real Madrid game was given by the cameras. Before the match kicked-off, a corner view of the pitch was given, along with an aerial shot and a behind-goal view to allow the audience to work out the size and scale of the pitch. The names, numbers and positions of each team’s players were shown twice, so that spectators knew exactly who was who. Crowds were shown to give home viewers the atmosphere of the event. It was possible to see players warming up on the pitch and as the players were leading onto the pitch, viewers could see them coming out from the tunnel. Finally, a close-up of each team’s players was given, followed by kick-off.
Many cameras are needed when watching football, as it is an unpredictable, fast-paced sport, where it is easy to miss key moments. Cameras are positioned along one side of the pitch (they are only positioned along one side because if there were cameras on both sides, every time the cameras swapped sides, the players would be facing the other direction.), so views of the whole pitch are possible, next to the pitch, for ground level shots and goals, in each corner, for corner kicks, in goal corners for replays and there was an aerial view of the pitch: There are usually around 18-20 cameras all filming the action in a football match. This number of cameras allows the people at home an even better view of the match than the fans actually attending it.
Obviously, the high amount of cameras used in football can lead to difficulty and complications, especially as most matches are shown live: Technical faults can lead to loss of pictures, which can, in turn, put down the reputation of the television company, poor weather can lead to bad visibility or match cancellations, which cost the television company money and disrupts their schedule, extra time can also disrupt the schedules.
The London Marathon can be a very difficult event to cover due to its length: it has a course of over 26 miles! Luckily, because all the roads are blocked off, it is possible to follow the athletes using cameras. This is most often carried out with the use of motorbikes: they don’t take up much space and offer a smooth ride for the cameras, so there isn’t too much jolting about.
At the beginning of the main race (with the ‘fun’ runners) there is an aerial shot of all the participants, which gave the audience an idea of the scale of the marathon.
In the professional competitors’ race there were separate groups of people running at different pace. Most images were biased: they were of British runners or the favourites to win. When the women’s race began, nearly the whole race was focused on Paula Radcliffe, who is British and was aiming to break the women’s world record for the quickest time to complete the marathon. So much attention was paid to her because she tried to break the same record in a previous London Marathon, but she failed. She then became one of the world’s most successful long-distance runners, so a lot of pressure was on her to break the record, especially because she’s British. All of the concentration on Paula helped to create tension: “would she win?” “Would she break the record?”. This was brilliant for the BBC, who covered the event, as it created enough tension to keep most viewers entertained for the entire race.
The motorbike cameras used showed either a front, side or rear view of runners, although it was mostly a view diagonally in front of the person. This meant that the audience were able to see the competitor’s expressions, showing how the sports people were feeling.
While the cameras were focusing on Paula Radcliffe, additional tension was built by showing details of how long it had taken her to run each mile. This worked by letting the audience know if she was improving or not and allowed them to make an estimate of her finishing time. As Paula was running the race, views of other athletes and their positions were given every few minutes to keep the audience informed.
Due to the marathon’s length, it is impossible to get an aerial shot of the whole track, so aerial views of different sections of the track were used, letting the audience know the general direction of the track and the route runners would be taking.
Hanging along the barriers were countless numbers of advertisements, so that they could be included in the coverage of the race. Crowds standing next to the track were visible on the side of the screen, which helped to re-create the atmosphere of actually attending the marathon.
At the end of the race, there was a stationary camera placed behind the finish so it was possible to see the runner coming down the last stretch of the race towards the finishing line (which had a big timer above it).
After Paula Radcliffe had finished, an interview was held with her. The camera then focused on runners behind her.
In the Brazilian Grand Prix, the race was delayed due to poor weather conditions. This meant the television company covering the event needed to fill time, which was done in a manner of different ways. There was an aerial view of the track which was then backed up with a map of the track with details on distances, corners etc. There was then visual information about the drivers’ previous race histories, along with their starting positions in the current race followed by views of drivers and their teams waiting to begin the race. There was then a close-up on different drivers’ faces: they were all looking nervous. This helped to create tension with the viewers and keep them entertained whilst waiting for the race to begin. Next, there were pictures of the mechanics and information on car’s tyres and engines-all this was being done to fill in time before the race began.
News finally came that the race was about to start, so to build up tension and atmosphere, pictures of the crowds cheering and jumping about were shown. There was a final long-shot of the beginning of the track before the race commenced.
Different camera angles available in the Grand Prix involve helicopter aerial views, to show the entire track and to stay ahead of cars, trackside cameras to see the speed at which the cars are travelling, corner cameras, as accidents tend to happen on corners, pit-stop cameras, to let the audience know what’s happening with drivers in the pit-stop, and in-car cameras, so the viewers can see what the driver is seeing. Not all of these techniques were used in the section of the race I saw, as the drivers had to follow a safety car, meaning everyone had to keep below a certain speed and remain in their starting positions.
There was the use of helicopter and in-car cameras to give a clear perspective and there were also close-ups of the favourite drivers to win. Close-ups of the safety car were given to remind audiences of the slow start.
Adverts were painted on the road and put above the track, so the camera would fit them in.
At the end of the race there was a close-up of the winner celebrating.
The camera’s coverage of different sports, however different, all have some similarities: The three sports I watched all showed the crowds to build atmosphere, scores/times/positions to keep the audience informed, advertisements and close-ups of “favourite” competitors. Also, each sport offered the best viewpoints it could find and tried to keep viewers interested when nothing was happening. All of this was so they could maintain their viewer’s attention and make money!
Another crucial feature in the coverage of televised sport is sound. Sound accompanies the pictures and helps to maintain an audience’s interest in the sport.
In all three of the sports I watched crowds could be heard, commentators were used and stars and experts put across their view. Trackside microphones were used to pick up sounds unique to the sport being watched: in football it was possible to hear the football being kicked and the ref’s whistle, running could be heard in the London Marathon and the sound of the cars could be heard in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The most important sound in sport is that of the commentators’ voices. Commentators are used to do 3 main jobs fill in time when there is nothing interesting happening, build tension when something interesting is and keep viewers informed about what’s going on. All of this is designed to keep an audience interested in the sport, so they won’t change channels. Commentators have to be very skilled for those reasons.
The commentators used in the Man-U Vs Real Madrid gave background information, such as previous match scores, club history and player’s histories when there was time to fill, although in football, background information has to be kept brief because something important can happen after a single kick of the ball. In running and motor racing, contestants tend to stay in the same position after the first few miles/laps until the end, which is when positions are likely to change.
Clichés, such as “It’s show time!” and “Simply the best” were used at the beginning of the Man-U – Real Madrid match to create excitement and tension at the beginning and end of the event and also when an important event happened.
When fouls were played, or the ball got close to the goal, the commentators kept the audience entertained by speeding up their pace and describing every pass of the ball until the action ended.
The commentators filled in time in the second half by describing what Manchester United’s
Manager, Alex Ferguson, might have said to his players during half time: “I expect he’s been having a few words with them in the dressing room about their performance tonight”.
As with the other two sports I watched, football commentators named people on the pitch to keep viewers informed. In football, it is usually whoever has possession of the ball, a goal-scorer or people involved in a foul. The London Marathon mentioned the names of whoever is on the screen and in the Grand Prix details of positions, people in the pit-stop or people who crashed were pointed out.
Also in the Brazilian Grand Prix, commentators gave details about cars’ speed “they have to stay below 70mph just now”, model, manufacturer “Ferrari”, type of tyres used and information on the recent change of rules. This was because the cars were following a safety car, so there wasn’t much happening and the commentators had to fill in the time: “They’ll be unhappy about the slow start”, “The change of tyres may affect Schumacher’s performance in this weather”. Even if the race wasn’t delayed, there would still be time to fill as there are around 72 laps in the Grand Prix. Information on why the safety car was being used and driver’s histories were given: “The safety car will warm up the tyres and help the drivers to get used to the conditions”.
Because the commentators needed to keep the audience interested for so long, tactics being used and tactics which could be used were explained: “If he fills up his tank now, then because of the slow start it won’t affect his speed and by the time the race speeds up, his fuel will last longer”. Commentators expressed their personal opinions about the race aswell.
Many technical terms about cars’ performances and specifications were used to make the event more authentic. This technique was also used in the football: terms such as “goal”, “pass”, “foul”, “free-kick” were all used to give a clear description of what was going on.
Both the London Marathon and the Man-U Vs Real Madrid game had biased commentators: the football commentators were biased towards Man-U and the marathon commentators were biased towards the British athletes, especially Paula Radcliffe.
A lot of time filling was used in the marathon, as it takes at least two hours for most professional runners to complete it. This meant the audience were told about the athlete’s histories: recent races run and won, methods of training, previous injuries etc. “Paula famously trains with her husband”, “Won a gold medal in the commonwealth 800m last year”.
One of the commentators was an ex-marathon runner himself, so he gave his professional experience and his view on how runners must be feeling: When Paula Radcliffe was near the end of the marathon, he commented on how she must be feeling-“It’s really beginning to hurt now”, “She must be feeling the pain”
Once Paula had finished, the presenter went over to her held an interview with her. This is this case with most winners or important players in sports and it’s because the television companies really want to attract viewers and however good the view people at the event receive, or however much fun they had it is highly unlikely they will ever have the chance to interview a star from the event. The stars can tell everyone what it was really like, and what they thought of certain incidents. There are lots of camera shots of the winners, but in the Man-U – Real Madrid game it was also possible to see the teams shaking hands and swapping shirts.
So why do people enjoy watching televised sport?
I think it’s all down to the quality of coverage: the use of cameras, sound, replays, commentary, close-ups, interviews with stars, and expert opinions. All of this, in no small way helps to attract an audience. It’s the same as any television show: if you find it boring, you won’t watch it, so it’s up to the television companies to make the sports as attractive and interesting as they possibly can.
Additionally, the way in which people watching the sport on television, who usually get to view sport for free, have many more luxuries and features than the spectators at the event who pay dramatically influences the reasons why people enjoy to watch televised sport.
Football, running and motor racing all make an effort to be as dramatic and exciting as possible solely to attract viewers, all their techniques seem to work, so they must be effective!
Which would you prefer: standing outside on your own in the pouring rain, hardly able to see a thing and paying £20….or…. staying in the comfort of your own home, alone or with friends, with the best view possible and it’s free!? Exactly!
