Hello Everybody !

I'd like to speak with you about marginalized sports in the media (TV , Radio , Magazines about sport , Internet etc...).
In North America sports like American football , Basketball and Baseball are popular.
But outside of North America the existence of US football and baseball are known but these sports aren't popular and the majority of those living outside of N.America don't known rules of these sports with the exception of Japan in which baseball is popular.

In Europe soccer is a popular sport but it's not popular in North America.
In Europe basketball is less popular than soccer and basketball is less popular in Europe than in North America.
Handball is more popular in Europe than North America and this sport doesn't seem to be known by the majority of people living in North America.

Australian football , Beach soccer , Gaelic football , Floorball , Korfball and many others sports aren't highly mediatized.
What to do in order to favorize marginalized sports in media ? What's yours ideas ?

vpn

I can't find Mongolian buzkashi on ESPN.

A sport isn't going to get a heap of media coverage unless it has an audience, so some sports like Korfball really are only ever going to attract niche coverage.

Our family's main participation sport is (field) hockey, and it's got a lot of the issues you mention. It's an Olympic sport, but media coverage outside the Olympics, and to a lesser extent the Commonwealth Games is fairly low. Hockey has a higher media profile in Netherlands and Belgium, but even in other countries with high-ranked hockey teams, like Australia, England, and Argentina, it's not considered a major sport by media outlets.

There are some things that are changing that, though.

First is the move to specialised sport streaming services. In Australia we have a streaming service dedicated to sport (Kayo, a Fox offshoot) which is keen to attract subscribers by offering a large number of sports. Hockey Australia has picked up a new coverage deal for both international and domestic leagues from Kayo.

Secondly, and hand in hand with this, sports need to consider how to make themselves media-friendly. Hockey has responded to media complaints that the fast nature of the game makes it hard to include replays or advertisements in coverage by moving from playing matches as two halves to playing in four quarters, allowing media coverage a break in play in each half of the game. There's been some pushback as this change has filtered down to grassroots levels, but old buggers like me actually appreciate the chance to go get a drink three times per match, so it has its upsides It's also a handy coaching opportunity for juniors to have a short quarter- and three-quarter-time break.

Also here, our domestic interstate competition has moved from a week-long intensive tournament in one city to a two-month-long home and away league with weekly matches, which provides a better offering for a streaming service.

Thirdly, sports need to have good media skills to take advantage of any opportunities to raise the profile of their sport. With the rising profile of women's sport generally, Hockey Australia is making efforts to cash in on the fact that hockey has had gender-equal participation here for decades, unlike sports such as cricket, rugby, Australian Rules, or football. The new domestic league here is taking advantage of that by playing all interstate matches as double-headers of one men's match and one women's match back to back (often in that order). The first season of the new league is still ten weeks away, but it's clear this is going to be a selling point.

But at the end of the day, the sports news is still going to be dominated by football, and (here) cricket, rugby league, and Australian Rules. Even though hockey, netball and basketball have high participation, they just don't seem to break through with media organisations that can take an easier route with the even bigger sports.

It doesn't seem even to have much to do with the quality of the product. Looking at motorsport, coverage is dominated by Formula 1, one of the most batshit boring sports for spectators ever invented. Meanwhile, the FIA also oversee the spectacular World Rally Championship, and don't market it at all in comparison. Go figure.

Hockey here is only second in participation to football (both men and women) which is reflected in the Netherlands rankings. It receives maximum media coverage. The same is true of volley and hand ball both in which the Netherlands rank well in the global stage.
The great thing here is that commercial tv has not been allowed to buy up broadcasting rights even for football. This has been the curse for many a supporter in the UK. The Six Nations is now no even worth trying to follow. The internet used to give a way out but that as dried up. Cricket has suffered this fate for years. Motor sport is a minority sport broadcast on a minor commercial tv channel where it is killed with ads.
My experience of Australian rules football on Oz tv was how to show as many ads as possible. It was just amazing.

Macdoc wrote:vpn

Why do you speak about VPNs ?
Do you seriously think VPNs can increase the popularity of a sport ?

laklak wrote:I can't find Mongolian buzkashi on ESPN.

Are you certain this game is played in Mongolia ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzkashi

Stare out competitions are the most marginalised sport as far as media coverage is concerned. Played at the top level, tournaments match - and sometimes may even exceed - the exciting pace of test cricket and the dramatic moves performed in chess.

And yet it's been many years since the enthralling sport was televised since the BBC's Big Train televised the 43rd World Stare Out Championship Finals in 1998. I don't understand the total lack of coverage between then and now.

For those of you, who don't know what you're missing out on, just watch this match!



If that whet your appetite for more, here it is: Enjoy.

laklak wrote:I can't find Mongolian buzkashi on ESPN.

Buzkashi is not Mongolian, it's Afghan

They all look alike to me.

It is advertising that does me. Football games on Dutch PB have a five minute ad block at half time which is fine as refreshments have to be refilled anyway. Hockey World/European Cups are also have this block only at half time. I could not watch Oz football though as that was ad overkill and suspect American egg ball is the same.

This was on television for decades here:

The thrill of victory, the agony of de feets.

I'm into rock climbing and luckily the International Federation of Sports Climbing has a Youtube channel with live coverage of every event. Last night I was able to watch live coverage of the paraclimbing world championships. I can't think of many other sports where you could watch live coverage of the disabled version, never mind the regular events. Luckily, climbing is niche enough that most of the companies involved only make climbing gear, so it's worth it in advertising revenue to put on professional events. I feel like if it was a sport where the gear was made by Adidas or Nike, there wouldn't be the big push to put out videos. It's also a sport that's good in terms of equality, so the men's and women's events are always hosted together. The para version isn't quite there yet, because there aren't quite enough competitors, and the top events involve travelling around the world all year. But when there is a para world cup, it's always alongside the able-bodied events.

Svartalf wrote:

laklak wrote:I can't find Mongolian buzkashi on ESPN.

Buzkashi is not Mongolian, it's Afghan

Buzkashi? I thought that was what you got by lacing your oatmeal with hashish.

Cito di Pense wrote:

Svartalf wrote:

laklak wrote:I can't find Mongolian buzkashi on ESPN.

Buzkashi is not Mongolian, it's Afghan

Buzkashi? I thought that was what you got by lacing your oatmeal with hashish.

You're confusing that with bukkake. Apparently that's a Japanese sport, but like other marginalised ones, rarely broadcast on mainstream TV networks.

Scot Dutchy wrote:It is advertising that does me. Football games on Dutch PB have a five minute ad block at half time which is fine as refreshments have to be refilled anyway. Hockey World/European Cups are also have this block only at half time. I could not watch Oz football though as that was ad overkill and suspect American egg ball is the same.

What's the deal with coverage of Dutch domestic hockey? Ads at half time? Ads at quarter/three-quarter time? Or ad free on a public channel?

OlivierK wrote:

Scot Dutchy wrote:It is advertising that does me. Football games on Dutch PB have a five minute ad block at half time which is fine as refreshments have to be refilled anyway. Hockey World/European Cups are also have this block only at half time. I could not watch Oz football though as that was ad overkill and suspect American egg ball is the same.

What's the deal with coverage of Dutch domestic hockey? Ads at half time? Ads at quarter/three-quarter time? Or ad free on a public channel?

Like all programmes here on PB ads are only between programmes never in the programme itself. The same is true of films etc. We have a three/four hour sport programme on a Sunday evening which is broken up with the major news at 20.00. There are ads around the news (before and after). The sports programme itself is never broken. Live matches (this is true in all sports) only have half time ads. The quarters in hockey never have ads but are relatively short. We dont have a culture of live sport watching of domestic sports. The finals would be shown but of the run of the mill matches edited versions would be shown during the sports programme. I never watch commercial tv here. It is pretty low life and very American in appearance but it does have its own sports programmes. I dont have a clue what happens.

Thanks

YW.

I deplore the absence of Hornussen on network or subscription channels.