ABSTRACT
Introduction As the previous three chapters have demonstrated, the sport media nexus is robust. The evolution of the sport media nexus, its strength, and the global power and influence of both of its component industries, has largely been driven by money. The media coverage of sport has become the central means by which sport organizations obtain revenue, while sport has become one of the most valuable ‘properties’ for media organizations. The importance of sport is such that major national broadcasters almost always bid for the rights to high-profile sports (Hoehn & Lancefield, 2003). In fact, the rights to ‘premium’ sports have become such an important commercial property that not having them can adversely impact a company’s financial bottom line or in extreme cases lead to the demise of media organizations. The way in which the commercial dimension of the sport media nexus operates can be divided into five interrelated components, which are represented in Figure 4.1.
