ABSTRACT
That said, what distinguishes broadcast sport from in-person spectatorship is that competition is filtered through more than just personal biases. Sport programming is the result of countless production decisions made by a “team of professional gatekeepers and embellishers” (Comisky, Bryant, & Zillmann, 1977, p. 150). Consider Morris and Nydahl’s (1985) contrast between two spectators-one watching in person versus one watching from home. Whereas the in-person spectator sees the competition from a single vantage point, the athome spectator sees events via a variety of perspectives: wide shots that provide viewers with an encompassing perspective of the stadium environment and field of play, medium shots that bring the viewer closer to the action, and close-ups that portray athletes’ exertion in graphic detail. Broadcasts are further enhanced by onscreen graphics providing insight or context, attention-grabbing sound effects, game sounds captured in high fidelity, and the constant accompaniment of on-air commentators. Finally, competition is often witnessed repeatedly through instant replays. Based on this, they conclude, “the dramatic experience of watching the game on television is so different from the dramatic experience of being present in the arena that they are almost incomparable” (p. 105).
