The Regulation of Access to Major Sporting Events

Abstract

In an era of multichannel digital television and increasingly fragmented audiences, live coverage of major sporting events remains one of the few forms of programming able to bring the nation together for a shared viewing experience. A small number of high-profile international events, such as the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup football tournament, attract millions of viewers worldwide but, for the most part, the sporting events that attract the biggest national television audiences tend to be nationally and/or culturally specific.¹² For example, in the USA, the 2012 Super Bowl (XLVI) was watched by just over 111 million viewers, an all-time record high for US television (Deans, 2012). In Europe, key matches of the FIFA World Cup football tournament regularly attract record television audiences within the participating countries. For instance, in 2010, Germany’s semi-final match (against Spain) was watched by 31.1 million viewers, a national audience share of 83.2 per cent (FIFA, 2010: 10). Beyond the USA and Europe, live television coverage of major sporting events is just as popular. For example, in India, the final of the 2011 ICC World Cup Cricket tournament (between India and Sri Lanka) was watched by an audience of over 120 million (TOI, 2011).