David Whitson

In the article below, David Whitson, a professor of Canadian studies at the University of Alberta, examines how the media and professional leagues work to make pro sports as popular and as profitable as possible. Coverage of sports as news, for example, allows the media to report on sports—related events virtually all the time, even when games are not occurring, and national coverage of sporting events enables teams to develop national, rather than local or regional, fan bases. The sports media also work to build up sports celebrities that will draw more fans, and using these athletes in advertisements enables corporate sponsors to associate their brand names with athletic success. With all the marketing avenues available to the pro sports industry and its associated media, Whitson concludes, the potential revenues are almost...