The history of World sport was examined to gain insight on how sport has contributed to World culture. The combined results of desk research and telephone interviews conducted with top level executives in sporting goods companies and network television, offer valuable insight into World sports business practices, branding practices, and media choice. Interviews were recorded and dated for the purpose of the paper.
The desk research followed a timeline from the New England Colonies in 1618, to network television in the year 2001.The history study was necessary to erase any assumptions and define narrow dates and places of genesis for leisure and sport. Defining sport was critical in determining which sports to observe for research.
Understanding sport meant having to define “athlete.” The athlete – not the game finally defined what television calls a great “product.”
The research needed to separate local and national sport as well – local sport does not sell billions of dollars in merchandise or command a $26 billion contract for rights fees. The investigation separated World from international sports such as the Olympics and World Cup Soccer.
In genesis and therefore both events were summarily reviewed. In addition, most of the research would support the business model of merchandising, audience share and celebrity endorsements for most events.
It was a day like any other golf day; only the players had changed. Not since Arnold Palmer raised his driver and ripped the sweet August air had the sport of golf witnessed such incredible magnetism. It was June of 1996 and a young black man named Tiger Woods as a 16-year-old won the 1993 and 1995 Amateurs. Everyone from the media and the public to his dad expected greatness. Anticipation grew on a grand social scale as men and women, old and young, spectator and competitor, tuned in to....
