Television Sport Broadcasting and Technology

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Producing TelevisionJennifer Clark, editor, Spectator 28:1 (Spring 2008): 53-64.

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Television SportBroadcasting and TechnologyIf Is in h (Vid) Gam, Is in h Gam

Christopher Hanson

Further, I contend that the advent of sports videogames has furthered the commodification of sport,a trend which can be tracked through video gamesstylistic influence upon broadcast sports. In orderto discuss this reciprocal relationship, I will briefly

explore the histories of sport and video gamesbefore comparing the televised broadcasts of twoprofessional sporting events to their interactiveequivalents.

A Brif Hisry f Spr and Vid Gams

Much like modern media, both sports and videogames were effectively made possible by thearrival of systemized processes of mass production

engendered by the Industrial Revolution. As such, itis useful to briefly trace the historical developmentof both sport and video games in order to investigatetheir unique reciprocity; however, in order to doso, it is necessary to consider their shared culturaland conceptual lineage. Te history of sportsand video games evince their mutual reliance onindustrialization and technological development;however, both find their basis in a more culturallyand historically fundamental element: play. JohanHuizinga famously notes the significance of play

in his seminal work Homo Ludenswith his openingstatement, Play is older than culture.2Huizinga

If is in h gam, is in h gam. -EA (Electronic Arts) Sports Slogan

Te interdependence of technology and sport isindisputable. It is difficult to conceive of a sportthat does not require some sort of equipment beit a ball, a net, an engine or a timekeeping device.

Any athletic contest that relies on such external

props for its play reveals the inherent reliance ofsport upon tools and technology. Te advent oforganized sports and professional leagues hasaccentuated this relationship, as continuouslyrevised official rules and regulations dictateequipment standards, from the exact measurementsof a ball to the precise conditions under whicha sport can be played.1 But the union betweentechnology and sport is at its most apparent

when television broadcasting is introduced into

the equation. Te close relationship betweensport, television and technology has been recentlyemphasized by the explosion in the popularity of

video games, specifically sport games. Indeed, whileearly sport video games drew their presentationalinspiration from television broadcasting, the trendis now showing signs of reversal, wherein televisedbroadcasts are taking their technological cuesfrom video games. I argue that this relationshiphas been adopted as an industrial strategy asboth television broadcasters and game developers

mimic each others televisual style in an attemptto sell their products in multiple media channels.


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establishes that play precedes the development ofculture, noting the play of animals. He explores theanthropological roots and formal characteristics ofplay, and then traces the roles it has in influencingritual, business and politics.3Huizingas observations

are indicative not only of the pervasive influence ofplay upon culture, but also of the degree to whichplay structures contemporary society. Te potencyof the multiple cultural valances of play is clearlyevinced by its centrality in regards to behavioralpractices ranging from interpersonal relationships(i.e. the game of love) to financial markets (i.e.playing the market).4Te economic and culturalsignificance of play is brought into sharp reliefby the sport and video game industriesboth

of which are fiscally structured around play andsimultaneously reliant on technology. As JohnRickards Betts argues, the Industrial Revolutionand technological innovation played a central rolein allowing for the emergence and evolution ofmodern sport; the importance of industrializationis the late-19thcentury to organized sport evincesthat technology played a necessary role in sportlong before both television and video games.5Following the first commercial sports broadcastof Major League Baseball (MLB) and National

Football League (NFL) games in 1939, Americansports and television have been inextricably tiedto one another.6 Indeed, David Rowe deems theliaison between sport and television so intimatethat that he likens it to a marriagealbeit asomewhat contentious one.7 Tis relationshiphas grown profoundly over the years as anincreasing number of media outlets offer sports-dedicated programming as part of broadcastingand narrowcasting strategies and leverage

ever-more specialized technologies to enhancetelevisual spectatorship, further demonstrating thepronounced linkages between the technologicaland financial facets of the industrial practices ofsports broadcasting.8

Much like modern organized sports, videogames are similarly dependentif not moresoon technology. Video games could not exist

without computer processors, memory, or screens,and the rapid development of these technologieshas dramatically transformed the video game

landscape. Te televisual and narrative experiencesoffered by video games have evolved considerably

since their inception in the 1950s; the massiveincrease in computational and graphic processingpower was accompanied by a progression fromsimple lights and grainy black-and-white screensto the high-definition screens of today. But these

forms of digital media in turn owe much of theirdevelopment to organized sports. Te influenceof sports upon video games has been clear sincetheir inception, as several of the earliest digitalgames were conceived as emulative experiencesof sporting events. At the Brookhaven NationalLaboratory, a government nuclear research facility,

William A. Higinbotham created what somebelieve to be the first computer game, ennis forwo. Higinbotham, who had previously worked in

early radar research and engineered timing devicesfor atomic bombs, created a two-player tennisgame for entertaining visitors to the facility.9Independent of Higinbothams creation, studentsat the Massachusetts Institute of echnology(MI) created Spacewarfour years later as a two-player experience pitting two spaceships againstone another in a duel.

But the video game industry did not blossomuntil Nolan Bushnell created a commercial versionof the MI game which he entitled Computer Space,

and used the nominal royalties from this adaptationto finance the creation of a new company named

Atari and its first original game.10 Pong debutedin 1972 and its immense success fueled the rapidgrowth of both Atari and the video game industry asa whole. Tat these early games were based aroundcompetition between two players is by no meansaccidental, as technical limitations in early gamesoften restricted the types of games that could becreated. Hardware and software constraints initially

prevented game developers from realisticallysimulating a computer player with artificialintelligence (A.I.), especially as the graphicsthemselves were particularly processor-intensive.11

As such, early games were severely limited in theirrepresentational capacities, and many resembledsimple board games rather than graphically realisticfigures. Te popularity and widespread availabilityof Mattels handheld electronic games in the mid-70s reinforces its utility as an example of an earlyiteration of rudimentary representational graphics.

Rather than requiring a television or computermonitor to play, these games were self-contained


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and handhelda by-product of the popularity ofboth home video games and pocket calculators.

Te games were built around the light-emittingdiodes (LEDs) which could be controlled by theplayer. In this form, video games offered players an

on-screen avatar in the form of simple red light.Akin to a marker or button used in a childrensboard game, these monochromatic red lights couldimply virtually nothing aboutthe on-screen players, otherthan their relative positionsto one another. Te firstgame in the Mattel Series

was Auto Race (1976), inwhich players would direct

a single red light throughthe traffic of other carsnamely, other red lights.Players accumulate pointsby successfully maneuveringthrough multiple waves ofred lights, each successionrepresenting a lap around arace course. Tis simple game

was enormously popular (theentire handheld sports series

generated in excess of $400million in sales), promptingMattel to follow-up theautomobile racing game withseveral other iterations basedon the same technology.12

Te second game in the serieswas more clearly a sporting game: the followingyear, Mattel released Football(1977), in which thesimple LED lights represented a quarterback on

a football field.13

Te popularity of these earlygames is striking, particularly given their fairlysimple gameplay and limited representationalaesthetic. Te visual linkage between these earlygames and the sports which they simulate wasquite tenuous and far more metaphorical thanrealistic; to borrow Charles S. Peirces terms, theseLED representations are more symbolic thaneven iconic, as these signifiers do not resemblethat which they represent.14 Tese patterns ofsignification begin to shift in the coming years,

however, as increasingly powerful hardware andsoftware systems begin to permit increasingly

iconic and, ultimately, indexical representations.In these early stages, sport video games attemptedmerely to emulate the fundamental aspects of therules of these sports, rather than to imitate thespectators experience.

Te demonstrated financial potential of suchrudimentary games stimulated explosive economicand industrial developments; home consoles soon

began to be sold by multiplecompanies and the birth ofthe personal computer marketfollowed suit. Te presence ofmultiple hardware platformsprovided the ideal marketfor independent software

publishers to peddle theirwares to multiple outlets.One such company wasElectronic Arts (EA), createdby ex-Apple employee

rip Hawkins in 1982. Asa shameless promoter andsomewhat of a huckster,Hawkins recognized theselling power of athletes andcontacted the agent of NBA

star Julius Dr. J Irving toask if his client would be

willing to let Electronic Artsuse his name and likeness in acomputer basketball game, as

well as representatives of LarryBird.15 Te resulting game,

Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One-on-One(EA, 1983),is indicative of a shift to iconic representations, asthe Apple II, the more powerful system the game

was built for, allowed for a higher screen resolutionand 16 colors. Te avatars representing the twoprofessional basketball players were, at least by thestandards of the day, distinctive and immediatelyrecognizable.16 Te game depicts the two stars asnot only distinctly different characters, but also aspossessing different play characteristics.17Te gamealso featured an end-court camera, simulatingspectatorship from off-court seating behind theavatars and the court, affording its players bettercontrol and enhanced spectatorial positions than

other games. Te game was a bestseller and inspiredthe company to further its sports line and begin

eary sprs gam: Football (Mattel, 1977)andleD avaars.


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development on another game with the associationof a well-known NFL entity:John Madden Football(EA, 1989). Te 1990 debut of Madden Footballon the Sega Genesis system is widely credited

with helping establish the Genesis platform as anindustry leader and validated EAs reputation asthe leading sports video game publisher.

Ashics and Impicains f Spr n tvisinand in Vid Gams

Video games have traditionally emulated theviewers experience of a broadcast sporting event,and early EA games are no exception. Lakers VersusCeltics and the NBA Playoffs(1990) provides ampleevidence of this presentational style. Te gamefeatures a side-view of the basketball court, asfound in television broadcasts of NBA games.18

Players are introduced at the start of each contest,with the names, pictures and statistics of each teamsplayers displayed over a backdrop of the arena,again emulating NBA televisual style. Prior to thestart of each game, virtual announcers in the formof (barely) animated images of two men introduceeach game from behind a desk, with a large signthat reads Electronic Arts Sports Network.

Tese graphical elements in the game are stronglyindicative of the softwares attempt to emulate

John Caldwells notion of televisuality. Caldwell

discusses the interrelation of several factors intelevision production techniques that resulted

in a strong stylistic emphasis on videographicaesthetics after 1980.19He suggests that this recentstylization of television draws from economic,industrial, programming and audience factors,among others. Given this inter-reliance, Caldwellcontends that this excessive stylizationwhat heterms televisualityis more than merely a passingfad but is instead indicative of a larger consumertrend. Tis trend is clearly demonstrated in theevolution of sports broadcasts and the video games

which seek to emulate these same broadcasts;

indeed, specific televisual elements serve as theshared language between the media forms.

John Madden Football appropriates televisionstylistics in its gameplay, with in-game audiocommentary on the games events from its namesakebroadcast analyst. Like NFL television broadcasts,

Madden Footballs game introductions feature awide shot of the arena where the virtual game isto be played, with each teams name and relativestrengths and weaknesses listed. Interestingly, the

game abandons a broadcast-style camera duringgameplay, eschewing the conventional look fora floating camera that hovers over gameplay toafford its players more intuitive control of theaction. Earlier games such asNFL Football(Mattel,1979) andecmo Bowl (ecmo, 1989) featured amore familiar sideline camera, but this perspectivehas all-but-vanished since.20 Te presence of theimaginary Electronic Arts Sports Network is clearin the EASN logo during game introductions ofthe sequel John Madden Football 92 (EA, 1991),

which also features reaction shots of the crowdfor some plays.

Iconic representation: Dr. J and larry Bird G one-on-one(EA,1983).


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Te second version of John Madden Footballwas far from the last. EA capitalized on thesuccess of the franchise and now releases an annual

version of the game across multiple platforms atthe start of each NFL season, with updated rosters,

improved graphics and new features. EA has beenquick to brand the Maddenseries and several ofEAs other sport franchises (such as NHL HockeyandNBA Live, a practical successor to Lakers VersusCeltics), all under the umbrella of the EA Sportslabel. Here Robert Bellamys examination of theimportance of branding to broadcasting is usefulto consider; he argues that sports coverage is oftenassociated with specific networks or producers,such as ABCs Monday Night Football.21 Bellamy

notes that this branding is essential in the age of theremote control, where viewers may have difficultydistinguishing between a growing number of

viewing options at their disposal.Tis nicely parallels the similar branding

(such as EA Sports) in video games, which inturn offer the television audience another viewerchoice in the form of a realistic sporting event in

which they have agency. Bellamy investigates thetransformation of the television industry itself,noting a pattern of financial loss that he attributes

to the rise of cable sport, arguing that such factorshave placed increased importance on the verticaland horizontal integration of the ownership of thenetworks with other disparate media companies.22He observes that sports are an essential componentto this new marketplace, as networks and mediacompanies such as Fox use sports to cross-market across their many brands and markets;this integrated marketing approach generates

new sources of revenue to supplement televisionrevenue, while continuing to rely on television forsports exposure. Tus media conglomerates suchas Rupert Murdochs Fox Corporation use suchtechniques to market their sports product across

multiple markets, allowing them to re-package andre-brand content across multiple media streams.For instance, the look of a Fox sports broadcastcould be repackaged for a Fox video game, allowingthe two revenue streams to support each other.Indeed, the attempted establishment of the FoxSports video games division and the recent, moresuccessful establishment of the ESPN Football(Sega, 2003) and ESPN Basketball (Sega, 2003)franchises testify to this strategy.23

John Fortunato explores NBA games throughmethods of framing, using a concept of portrayalwhich divides into framing instruments (camerasand announcers) and framing strategies of depiction(personalizing players and developing storylines).24

Analysis of the framing instruments is helpful inunderstanding the strategic use of cameras andreplays to enhance multiple aspects of the game.Fortunatos observations are equally applicable toNFL broadcasts in their establishment of storylinesand player/coach personalization through framing

strategies. Fortunato observes that the NBAhas long considered the placement of televisioncameras an essential part of promotion of theNBA, noting that the leagues facility requirementfor new arenas includes stipulations regardingthe camera placements and where the media willsit for a game.25 Te instruments of camerasand announcers are used to enact the framingstrategies that include the portrayal of player and

Presentational style: lakers Versus Ceics and he NBA Payffs(EA, 1990).


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coach emotions to enhance game intensity. Teseframing strategies boil down to techniques thatthe networks and the NBA employ to maintain

viewer interest, and Fortunato argues that thesetechniques are used to enhance both the viewersenjoyment and understanding of an NBA game.It is this combination of framing methods andstrategies that better help an audience learnabout the content of what it is watching, thusmaking the audience a better consumer of future

of NBA games.26 Tis conclusion works wellwith the importance of synergy and branding asindicated by Bellamy to the multiple industriesthat benefit from better-informedand thus moreappreciativesport fans and consumers.

Te April 9, 2004 ESPN broadcast of theIndiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets game providesan abundant examples of Caldwells televisuality,as well as the framing strategies that Fortunatodescribes. After establishing wide-angle views of

the arena space with overlays of the team, NBAand network logos, ESPNs cameras move to thecourtside announcers. Te significance of the gameis quickly established as the announcers relate theback stories of the teams and players, emphasizing afew players on each team while the cameras provideclose-ups of the players described. Starting line-ups are graphically presented, with small picturesand statistical information for each player on eachteam, displayed over a backdrop of a high angleshot of the arena. Finally, the game begins with a

high camera shot of the tip-off, which then revertsto the familiar side angle camera for most of the

game. In-game coverage does feature occasionalnovel viewpoints, which traditionally have beenreserved for replay only. Players accomplishmentsare highlighted by occasional close-ups withgraphical overlays detailing their stats and theintroduction of new graphics is often accompaniedby dramatic sound effects.

A game ofESPN Basketballfeatures amazinglysimilar features of presentational coverage to theirtelevised broadcast. After the game is turned on,

the opening credits prominently feature the logosof ESPN, the NBA, and the games developer. Asa game begins, the arena space is again established

with wide-angle shots of the virtual space enhancedby logo-heavy overlays. Player rosters are introduced

with a high-angle shot and the announcers stressthe significance of the games outcome to eachteam, highlighting the key players with cameraclose-ups and voiceovers by the pre-recordedannouncers. Tese framing devices also serve to

support Preben Raunsbjerg and Henrik Sandsformulation of televised sports as a negotiationbetween organizer, producer and viewer.27 Videogames seem to further Rausenbjerg and Sandsapproach, as the passive television viewer in theirmodel becomes an active player in sports games.Unlike the television counterpart, the game playermay actively select different camera angles duringthe game and replays, intervening in the framingstrategies employed by the game engine.

For the tip-off, ESPN Basketball features the

standard broadcast high sideline angle, but thegame reverts to the floating camera popularized

(abv) th imaginary ecrnic Ars Sprs Nwrk f aryMaddn gams. (righ) tecm Bw (tcm, 1989). Bh srvas xamps f tV syisics in vid gams.


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by Madden for greater player control.28After keyplays, the game camera shows close-ups of theplayers (with graphic statistical overlays) involvedin the play, reacting in an appropriate fashion.Instant replays are automatically selected for what

the game engine deems particularly exciting plays,the arrival of which are conveyed with a pause inthe gameplay, the announcers describing the replay,

which sandwiched between an overlay wipe of theESPN logo. Te ESPN broadcast of the Pacers-Nets game features many of these same attributes,its own multi-angle replays bookended by aflyingand highly televisualESPN logo. Muchlike their broadcast equivalent, these instant replayin the video games, place a pronounced focus on

the (virtual) physicality and performativity of thedepicted players. Margaret Morse argues that intelevision sports replays the repetition of the physicalfeats of players is transformed into a scientificinquiry into the limits of human performance.29For Morse, the television replay emphasizes thephysical prowess of players, affording multiple

vantage points to fully investigate the capacity ofthe human body. She describes sport as a masculinepreserve, the only circumstance in which the malebody is considered a legitimate object of the male

gaze; Morse contends that the legitimization ofthe male gaze is allowed by sports delicate balanceof play and display, wherein the gaze assumesthe guise of scientific inquiry.30 In a sense, videogames serve to further reify this scientific inquiryinto the male form and human (albeit virtual)performance by greatly enhancing the capacity to

view and review play from an infinite number ofangles, shifting control of these live-action andreplay cameras from the television producer to the

player. By allowing the player to initiate replays atany time during the game and control the anglesfrom which they may be viewed, modern sport

video games effectively offer the player endlesstemporal and spatial re-examinations of in-gameperformance.

Tat virtually all sport video games arebased on masculine sports only furthers Morsesargument, as the focus of these enhanced replaysis almost solely on representations of maleathletes.31Continuing the trend established with

EAs One-on-One, the licensing of the likenessesof professional players is a cornerstone of

successful sports video games. Virtual athletes thusincreasingly resemble their real-life counterpartsboth visually and in terms of assessed ability,pushing these representations towards a degree ofindexicality unseen in early games. Tis league-

sanctioned licensing of the players bodies stronglysupports oby Millers assessment that sports haveincreasingly commodified the male body; he notesthat, Men, too, are becoming dependent on thegaze directed at them.32In a sports video game,the athletes bodyalready a commodityiseffectively repackaged and resold, effectivelyincreasing its value. As increasingly powerful andcomplex rendering systems and games platformsemerge, ownership of digital likenesses is sure

to become an increasingly lucrative, and thuscontested, aspect of sport video games.Te year beforeESPN NFL Footballdebuted,

its precursor NFL 2K3 (Sega, 2002) featured thefirst integration of ESPN-style presentation. In thegames opening, the Sega Sports brand is initiallyemphasized, but this introduction is followed bythe distinctive opening music and graphics ofESPNs signature news broadcast SportsCenter.

Te game displays a recorded video that exactlyduplicates an episode of SportsCenter, filmed in

the same studio and featuring the video of one ofits more prominent announcers, who greets theuser with the following:

Hi there. Welcome to SportsCenter ImDan Patrick. Plenty of good stuff to get toin the program tonight, but first, our topstory of the day. Sega Sports, the authorityin sports video gaming has drafted ESPN,the worldwide leader in sports as a key

player to boost its critically acclaimedSega Sports franchises to a higher level inorder to score with gamers. Lets have alook shall we? First to the NFL

Te SportsCenter broadcast then demonstratesthe video game in action, while Patricks voiceovercontinues, establishing the back story of theNFL season at hand. Tis integration of actualtelevision studio sets furthers the integration of

video production into Madden, as discussed by

Ernest Adams.33 Te implication of Patrickspresentation is that the taped broadcast is a real


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one his references to plenty of good stuff to getto on the program tonight and first to the NFLindicate that more sports news will follow. TeSportsCenter studio, while clearly used to connotebroadcast realism, betrays its authenticity in its

attempts to brand itselfthe digital scoreboardthat stands behind the shows announcers does notshow actual scores, but instead repeats the phraseSEGA Sports.

Game introductions in NFL 2K3 offer anassessment of each team by an ESPN announcer

while ESPN fonts and graphics roll across thescreen. Again, the arena space is established witha wide shot, and the primitive EASN graphicoverlays as seen in an early Madden game are

replaced with hi-tech ESPN sights and sounds.Te announcers discuss the particular match-upsin the game through voiceover while a split-screendepicts the discussed players and coaches. Similarto ESPN Basketball, gameplay without playerscontrolling the action defaults to broadcast-stylecameras, but switches to the floating Maddencamera when a player assumes control of the action.

Te ESPN logo is again found swooshing acrossthe screen before and after replays, now enhanced

with a telestrator-style yellow line drawn upon

the play to highlight specific action during thereplay discussed by the announcer voiceover. It isimportant to note that (just as inESPN Basketball)players can also watch a replay of whichever playthey choose, with complete freedom of cameraplacement and speed of the replay. Morses notionsof replay are transposed here into effecting scientificinquiry into the performance of a virtual athleteperformed by a virtual analyst, with the added layerof the user being given the option to control of the

temporal and spatial distortions she describes.ESPNs November 23, 2003 broadcast of theNFL game between the Washington Redskins andthe Miami Dolphins features a stylized and dramaticintroduction designed to express the heightenedimportance of the game to the Washington players.High contrast shots of somber-looking athletes inthe Washington locker room are combined withrobot-like camera movements and sinister music

while an off-screen voice issues the followingunintentionally preposterous monologue:

How can 53 men lose sight of their

singular goal? Your hopes have sunk intofrustration, your emotions have turnedagainst you. And now, no one cares for

what you have to say for yourself. Saynothing. Do everything and anything

it takes to justify your existence. Teanticipation, the expectation of yourseason that seemed like an unwaveringforce has revealed its true frailty. We arenever as large as we seem nor as smallas we feel. Do not etch your legacy intostone yet. Will you protect your own?

Will you regain your focus? Your respect?Your identity within the hallowed halls ofyour own existence? Day one may seem

like a million miles away. Do not say aword. Just play.

Te announcers final word is punctuated by ablack screen with the single word play plasteredacross the screen. Te significance of this dramaticintroduction is in that while the announcer issupposedly speaking to the Washington players,only the viewer can actually hear his words. Tecommand to Just play is therefore issued directlyto the viewer, casting her as player and bestowing

agency in the process. Te announcer seems to besuggesting that user become player by picking uptheir controller at home.34

Te game coverage bears strong resemblanceto both the video game version and the NBAcoverage as elucidated by Fortunato. Following theestablishment of arena space with a wide shot, theteams are compared and back stories are explainedand just as in NFL 2K3, the discussed coachesand player are presented in a split-screen framed

by ESPN logos, while featured players are shownin zooms laden with graphical overlays listingtheir statistical accomplishments. Te viewer isreminded time and time again that this game isincredibly important, no doubt both to heightenexcitement and maintain audience share duringthe broadcast.

Beyond mere stylistic similarities betweenthe broadcast of the NFL game and video game

version, some technological implementations bearmention for their clear inspiration from video

games. Notably, the game broadcast featuresSportvisions First & en system, a videographic


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overlay technology that allows broadcasters topaint a yellow line across the playing field ontelevision screens that demonstrates where the firstdown marker (an objective in the play of football)is on the field.35 Tis technology clearly draws its

influence from game aesthetics, as a yellow linemarking the first down area has been staple of videogame football, preceding even Maddens debut.Even more striking during the ESPN broadcastis their introduction (and subsequent use) of theirSkycam technology. Te system uses a wire-mounted camera system to suspend a camera overthe football field, allowing broadcasters to followthe game from a previously unavailable angle.

Tis perspective is almost identical to the floating

camera featured in Madden and countless othersports games since. Te announcers description ofthe Visa-sponsored camera is telling:

Visa presents ESPN Skycam, innovativetechnology on ESPN, the worldwideleader in sports. Visa Skycam providessome of the most unique and memorableimages ever seen from angles no othersingle camera can achieve.

Te networks emphasis on the singularity ofSkycams perspective is particularly interesting, as

video game players instantly recognize Skycamsangle as the same as that of a virtual video gamecameraone that is featured even in ESPNs ownfootball video game.

ConclusionEven a cursory examination of early sports videogames evinces their attempts to convey broadcast-like conditions. Computer technology has increaseddramatically since the inception of digital games,and the duplication of broadcast realism now seemslike a tantalizingly attainable goal. As video gamesoffer their players increasingly realistic experiences,television broadcasters now find themselves forcedto compete aesthetically with the very games that

were initially mere primitive emulation. Tis trendis illustrated by the following comment by EvanRatliff on the industrial attempts to infuse realism

into sport video games:

All of this fanatical detail serves tosimulate not sports, exactly, but sports asfans know them: through the televisionlens. Both EA and Sega hire formertelevision producers to incorporate

V camera angles. With its 2K3 series,Sega went further, licensing the ESPNbrand and paying broadcasters to addSportsCenterpregame and highlight shows- boo-ya!EA now says it s moving beyond

V, adding field-level camera angles youGam ahics in visd sprs: SprsvisinsFirs & tn sysm.

eSPNs Skycam.


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wont see on Monday Night Football. Vhas been our guiding light for a longtime, says (formerMaddendevelopmentlead John) Schappert. At this point, hesays, I think V might be taking somedirection from us. We can do some things

with our camera and our game that theysimply cant do.3

Tus, what began as art imitating life has nowreversed. Te interplay between the sports video

game and sports broadcasting industry is evidentat the brand level (such as ESPN) and micro-level(the employment of former television producers toperfect a broadcast look in games).

Caldwell notes in elevisualitythat the trendin the 80s and 90s towards excessive style andheavy use of video graphics was brought aboutfor a number of reasons. Primarily, economiccircumstances (such as the introduction of newnetworks and the advent of cable), as well as

industrial factors (the spread of increasinglycheaper digital and video technology) contributed

to this boom. Sports broadcasts are no exception tothis trend toward excessive style, and, as indicatedearlier, are often laden with televisuality. It is evidentthat sports video games have greatly contributedaesthetically to this trend in sports broadcasting, as

indicated by their early integration of videographicelements and novel camera angles that have sincebeen adopted by television broadcasters.

Caldwell points out that even seeminglyunscripted media happenings such as sportingevents are, in fact, carefully choreographedand orchestrated productions. Tis contention,especially when combined with his suggestion thattelevisuality is constantly evolving and attemptingto outdo itself, strongly suggests that the recent

technological stylization of sporting events is awork in progress. Te ongoing aesthetic changesin broadcast sports demand a similar re-evaluationof the relationship between sport and television.Caldwell observes that the incorporation oftechnology into the televisual image was bothan industrial product and a result of economiccrisis.37

I believe a similar trend or perhaps anextension of the one that Caldwell discusses isoccurring today as major networks capitalize on

their branding of sports to make sports moreprofitable. Te degree to which branding hasbecome essential to sports broadcasting reveals thedegree to which sports are an essential componentto the fractured post-cable television marketplace.Indeed, the growing economic importance ofsports is increasingly evident as networks andmedia companies such as Fox and ESPN usesports to cross-market across their many brandsand markets. Video games are simply another

marketalbeit an extremely profitable oneinwhich to leverage their brand.

Christopher Hansonis a Ph.D. candidate in Critical Studies at the University of Southern CaliforniaSchool of Cinematic Arts. His dissertation focuses on replay in interactive media, television andavant-garde film and is tentatively titled One More ime: Implementations and Implications of theReplay. At USC, he assisted in the development and implementation of the online journal Vectorswww.

vectorsjournal.net and assists in ongoing research projects in serious game design for the USC GameInnovation Lab and the Institute for Creative echnologies. He earned a Bachelors degree in Media

Studies at Carleton College in 1996 and has worked for several years in video game design, softwaredevelopment and public television.


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Notes

1 Tese conditions can directly require technology, such as the National Hockey League (NHL)s reliance on a frozen surface forTese conditions can directly require technology, such as the National Hockey League (NHL)s reliance on a frozen surface forplay even in above zero conditions (though the 11/22/2003 outdoor game between the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilersproves that nature can provide the ice), and indirectly, such as the NBAs stipulation that games be played indoors to control playconditions, and thus requiring electricity.

2 Johann Huizinga,Johann Huizinga, Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture(Boston: Beacon Press, 1950), 1.3 Ibid., 14-18,200, 207-209.Ibid., 14-18, 200, 207-209.4 Or even to warsconsider the tendency of military and political leaders to describe situations in game or sports terms. Of course,Or even to warsconsider the tendency of military and political leaders to describe situations in game or sports terms. Of course,all of these cultural practices of metaphor are far more complex than this brief consideration and discussion.5 John Rickards Betts,Te echnological Revolution and the Rise of Sport, 1850-1900, inJohn Rickards Betts, Te echnological Revolution and the Rise of Sport, 1850-1900, in Sport, Culture and Society: A Reader onthe Sociology of Sport, ed. John W. Loy, Jr., Gerald S. Kenyon, and Barry D. McPherson (Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1981).6 Brad Schultz,Brad Schultz, Sports Broadcasting( Woburn: Focal Press/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002), 9.7 David Rowe,Te Global Love-Match: Sport and elevision,David Rowe, Te Global Love-Match: Sport and elevision,Media, Culture and Society18 (1996).8 For an overview of technological adoption and the economic impact of cable networks such as ESPN and Fox Sports Net, seeFor an overview of technological adoption and the economic impact of cable networks such as ESPN and Fox Sports Net, seeSchultz, Sports Broadcasting. As Schultz makes clear, ABCs Roone Arledge was heavily influential in his integration of technologyinto the sports shows such asABCs Wide World of SportsandABCs Monday Night Football.9 Steven Poole,Steven Poole, rigger Happy: Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution(New York: Arcade Publishing, 2000), 15.10 Steven Kent,Steven Kent, Te Ultimate History of Video Games(New York: Prima Publishing, 2001), 38.

11 As hardware and software rapidly evolved, games systems allowed for increasingly complex computer-controlled behavior.As hardware and software rapidly evolved, games systems allowed for increasingly complex computer-controlled behavior.Consider the difference between the simple left-right patterned movement of the aliens in Space Invaders(aito, 1978) to the morecomplex behavior of the ghosts in Pac-Man(Namco, 1980) only two years later.12 Kent, 201.Kent, 201.13 Ibid.,201.Ibid., 201.14 Charles Saunders Peirce,What Is a Sign?, inCharles Saunders Peirce, What Is a Sign?, in Te Essential Peirce: Selected Philosophical Writings, 1893-1913, Vol. 2, ed. NathanHouser, et al. (Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1998).15 Kent, 265.Kent, 265.16 It should be noted that these two representations are racially coded,both graphically and in the attributes each player is afforded.It should be noted that these two representations are racially coded, both graphically and in the attributes each player is afforded.Many early games evince patterns of racialized representationsa trend which continues to this day.17Tis trend has continued into present day sport video games,where playersattributes are determined on their recorded statisticalTis trend has continued into present day sport video games, where players attributes are determined on their recorded statisticaloutput from the previous season. Players are also given signature moves to better imitate their real-life counterparts.18 It should be noted that several other early basketball games featured a similar side-court angle, such as the Atari 2600 gameIt should be noted that several other early basketball games featured a similar side-court angle, such as the Atari 2600 game

Basketball(Atari, 1978) and Double Dribble(Konami, NES, 1987).19 John Torton Caldwell,John Torton Caldwell, elevisuality: Style, Crisis and Authority in American elevision (New Brunswick: Rutgers UniversityPress, 1995), 5.20 Curiously enough, Ataris ownCuriously enough, Ataris own Footballgame (1978), one of the first football video games, featured a similar perspective ongameplay. However, this angle was directly from above, identical to many other early games, effecting a 2-D gamespace not unlikethat found in a traditional board game.21 Robert V. Bellamy, Te Evolving elevision Sports Marketplace, inRobert V. Bellamy, Te Evolving elevision Sports Marketplace, in Mediasport, ed. Lawrence A. Wenner (New York:Routledge, 1998), 73.22 Ibid.,77.Ibid., 77.23 See R. Tomas Umstead, Fox Sports: Playing Video Games,See R. Tomas Umstead, Fox Sports: Playing Video Games, Cablevision (December 13, 1999): 84. In attempting to createtheir own games from the ground up, Fox Sports fared poorly in the intensely competitive video game market and no longerproduces games at the time of this article. ESPN apparently learned from this lesson and partnered with established gamedeveloper Sega to make its own video games. It should be noted that EA signed an exclusive five-year license with the NFL in late2004 and a similar agreement with ESPN in early 2005, preventing competitors from using NFL teams and players and ESPNgraphics and logos. Tis agreement was renewed in early 2008 to last until 2013.24 John A.Fortunato, Te elevision Framing Methods of the National Basketball Association:An Agenda-Setting Application,John A. Fortunato, Te elevision Framing Methods of the National Basketball Association: An Agenda-Setting Application,Te New Jersey Journal of Communication9, no. 2 (2001): 172-80.25 Ibid.,173.Ibid., 173.26 Ibid.,180.Ibid., 180.27 Preben Preben Raunsbjerg and Henrik Sand, v Sport and Rhetoric: Te Mediated Event,Preben Preben Raunsbjerg and Henrik Sand, v Sport and Rhetoric: Te Mediated Event,Nordicom Review1, no. 1 (1998):160.28 It should be noted that the game offers players the ability to pick their own camera angle, and, most interestingly, uses a selectionof broadcast-style angles if no players are selected and the game merely simulates a contest. As in football games, the broadcast-style side angle perspective has largely disappeared from basketball games with a notable exception. Games that emphasizeperformative play by rewarding players for not just scoring, but doing so in a stylish manner that humiliates opponents still featurethis camera angle, such asNBA Jam(Midway, 1993) andNBA Street(EA, 2001).29 Margaret Morse,Sport onelevision: Replay and Display,inMargaret Morse, Sport on elevision: Replay and Display, in Regarding elevision, ed. E. Ann Kaplan (Los Angeles: AmericanFilm Institute, 1983), 45.30 Ibid., 44-45.Ibid., 44-45.


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teleVISIoN SPoRt31 Tere are several notable exceptions to the line of male-dominated sports games, including 8 National Collegiate AthleticTere are several notable exceptions to the line of male-dominated sports games, including 8 National Collegiate AthleticAssociation womens teams in NCAA March Madness 98 (EA, 1997) and WNBA players in NBA Street Homecourt(EA, 2007).However, countless non-sport games objectify the female body.32 oby Miller,oby Miller,Sportsex(Philadelphia: emple University Press, 2001), 40.33 Ernest Adams,Ernest Adams, Putting Madden into Madden: Memoirs of an EA Sports Video Producer(April 26 2002), http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20020427/adams_01.htm (accessed November 13, 2007).

34A similar blurringbetween on-screenathlete andplayercontrolling virtualathlete canbe seen in a Campbells SoupadvertisementA similar blurring between on-screen athlete and player controlling virtual athlete can be seen in a Campbells Soup advertisementfrom the 2003-2004 NFL season. Te ad features Donovan McNabb visiting the home of a fan to encourage him to consumeCampbells products. Following dinner, the two sit down to play a video game, which prompts an argument over who gets tobe McNabb in the game. Curiously, both Campbells and Madden Footballare purported to have a curse wherein their annualpitchmen have been beset by injury during the season in which they are advertising the given product.35 Sportvision Celebrates Second Emmy Award for 1st and en System (October 6 2000), http://www.sportvision.com/news/news_main_dev.php?id=53 (accessed November 12, 2007).36 Evan Ratliff,Evan Ratliff, Sports Rule!( January 2003), http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.01/sports_pr.html (accessed November 13,2007).37 Caldwell, 7, 10.Caldwell, 7, 10.

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