”UTAN TV-BOLAGEN SKULLE HELA INDUSTRIN DÖ” - En kvalitativ studie om sportmediernas roll som aktör i sportvärlden; mitt emellan idrotten, marknaden, publiken och demokratin

Abstract

Executive summary The aim of this study is to investigate what influence media consider having on their own sports media content, and on the breadth, democracy, equality and survival of sports in the future. This was done through a qualitative study with interviews with managers at some of Sweden's largest broadcasting media companies, and with a number of active sports journalists. During the interviews, the interviewees were faced with questions like why they broadcast the sports they do, how they consider the mission and responsibility of media in the sports world, and how they think about the future of sports and sports media regarding to, for example, sportswashing, breadth and equality.

The study is based on the sports media complex theory, which means the tension between sports, the sports media and the market. Based on this theory, it examined how the media adapts their work according to the interests, demands and expectations of other actors, as well as how media affects the actors of the sports media complex. Additional theories involved in the essay are medialization, sportswashing and the commercialization of sport and media.

The findings of the study is that the media companies’ broadcasting is largely controlled by financial aspects and partly also by the media companies’ brand. The interviews have also shown that the relationship between the media, sports and the market is present, and in many cases necessary for the media companies to be able to create good media productions and good sports media content. This means that media have demands and expectations from other actors, but that the media companies also place demands and expectations on the actors they work with. The media companies also demonstrate an awareness of their own influence in the sports world and attributing themselves part of the responsibility for how the sports world works today, but also refer much of the responsibility and the opportunity to influence, to other actors in the sports world. Furthermore, the study has illuminated that journalistic content is highly valued within the sports media industry.

Regarding the future of both sports and sports media, the opinions of the respondents are, among other things, that women's sports will be more common in sports media and that the development of technology most likely will change the conditions for sports media in the future.