Transformation of Sports Media

• A man by the name Bill Rasmussen created ESPN in 1978. • Rasmussen decided to “rent satellite time from RCA for 24 hours”

which transformed into 24-hour sports coverage (ESPN Inc. History).

• “ESPN began broadcasting in September 1979 with limited airtime during the week and 24-hour coverage on the weekends” (ESPN Inc. History).

• Getty Oil invested 10 million dollars into ESPN• “Getty hired Chet Simmons, president of NBC Sports, to run

ESPN” in 1979 (ESPN Inc. History).

1978-80

Transformation into the next decade: 1980s• Started charging cable companies 6 cents per subscriber. • “When CBS Cable folded in October 1982,” ESPN officials tried

to convince “major cable companies that ESPN could not survive without subscriber fees” (ESPN Inc. History). “About half of the major cable companies agreed to ESPN's rates” (ESPN Inc. History).

• “By the end of 1983 ESPN was cable's largest network, with a reach of 28.5 million households” (ESPN Inc. History).

• College football began being broadcasted on ESPN Thursday and Saturday nights.

• ESPN then decides to expand internationally.

• ESPN began the 1990s with a new president and CEO, when Steve Bornstein• “The brand expansion began in 1991 with the launch of ESPN Radio Network”• ESPN 2 was created on October 1, 1993 for the younger demographic. It reached

nine million homes on that day • Major League Baseball first began being broadcasted on ESPN in 1990 but lost

$200 million to lack of viewers. • ESPN began developing its Extreme Games competition in 1994• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrJiDl9fE7A

1990-95

• ESPN gave Disney 80% of it’s interests in 1995• In April 1996 Disney announced plans to combine ESPN and ABC Sports into a

single operating unit under the control of Steve Bornstein. • In 1998 ESPN committed to new long-term contracts with the National Football

League and the National Hockey League.• ESPN launched ESPN: The Magazine in 1998• In 1999 ESPN chose to move the baseball games to ESPN2 and broadcast the

football games on ESPN. • ESPN's combination of Sunday night football and the Major League Baseball

playoffs pushed the sports network to the number one ranking in prime time among cable networks in October 1999.

1995-99

2000-03• ESPN was worth $20 billion, or 25 percent

of Disney's market value• A large-format movie produced with

Touchstone Pictures called ESPN's Ultimate X Games was released in May 2002.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m12KKOoySA

Jackie Robinson and the

Integration of Major League

Baseball

• First effort to organize an African American baseball league was in 1920

• The Negro National Leagues (NNL) were created in 1933• After World War II, there was high pressure on Major

League Baseball (MLB) to lift the color ban• It was clear that blacks and whites could compete fine

against each other, and finally the NNL ended in 1960.

What led to the Integration of Baseball

• Branch Rickey, the General Manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers, found Jack Roosevelt Robinson.

• At the time Robinson was only 25 years old and played for the Kansas City Monarchs.

• Basically during this meeting he warned Robinson of the scrutiny and verbal attacks he would get of not just fans, but other players.

The Start of Jackie Robinson

Time Line of His Success• Played for the Montreal Royals in 1946 in the

minor leagues• Started his spring training for the Dodgers in

1947

The Tough Times During Robinson’s Transition

• During road trips Robinson had to stay at private homes instead of with the other players.

• Many death threats in “fan mail” were sent to Robinson

The Best Times During Robinson’s Transition

• Was very good at stealing bases• Was named “Rookie of the Year” in 1947• In 1949 he became the National League MVP• Retired in 1956• In 1962 he was inducted into the National Hall of Fame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt17YLJWaJQ

Robinson died on October 24, 1972 at the age of only 53

• The MLB retired his number 42 from all teams on April 15, 1997

• Two movies have been made• “The Jackie Robinson Story” (1950)• “42” (2013)

• Many Books were written as well

Robinson’s Memory Still Lives on Today

How Technology Has Transformed Sports

Super Bowl XXXVIII Half-Time Performance

“The Federal Communications Commission said at the time it received 540,000 complaints about Jackson's exposed breast, and it later levied a $550,000 fine against CBS, the largest in history. The fine was later struck down by the Supreme Court.”

“The moment only lasted nine-sixteenths of a second”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

dqAUcajVoD0

What Happened?

Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson had been performing when Timberlake sang the final line, "Better have you naked by the end of this song,” and ripped off part of Jackson's costume.

• Phrase 'wardrobe malfunction' was added to the Chambers Dictionary in 2008: Justin Timberlake is the person who came up with it when he apologized. He said, “I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance at the Super Bowl.”

• Five-second delay: “ABC added a five-second delay to the Academy Awards that year and CBS put a delay on the 47th annual Grammys Awards. But it wasn't until two years later, when ABC decided to implement a five-second tape delay for the Super Bowl.”

• The rise of TiVo: “According to TiVo at the time, it became the most-rewatched moment ever. TiVo enrolled an estimated 35,000 new customers after” this event.

So What Transforme

d Out of This?