As a media studies student, analyzing the lens of media in various forms is crucial for understanding the social world around us. Applying theories and critiques to current events and campaigns within media conglomerates further shows an intellectual map leading us to see the distribution of power within media. Economic and ideological critiques are methods that show the ideologies behind one’s consumption of media and consumerism as a whole. This critique can be applied to many different media platforms, for instance, within the world of sports. Through sports productions’ transition to streaming services such as ESPN, Paramount+, Peacock, HBO Max, Prime Video and YouTube TV, sports have transformed into a commodity as people are likely to pay to watch them, instilling an aspect of consumerism and fitting into the cycle of consumption and power within political economic and ideological critique methods.
Economic critique is connected to a materialist philosophy. Within an economic critique, we analyze what drives consumerism within a materialistic society. A method to understand this is the Marxist Theory, which views society as a two-part cycle consisting of the base and the superstructure. The base determines society as a whole and how production flows into class systems. Whereas the superstructure determines our ideas.
When analyzing economic and ideological critiques, a key aspect is distinguishing the distribution of power, something that has been adapted into Marx’s formulation of power through the revolutionary Antoni Gramsci, who theorizes the distinct relationship between power and its role in ideology, something that is underestimated within a Marxist view of political-economic critiques.
Sports production has drastically changed over the years; however, the hegemonic ideals still rule within the social context of the environment of sports production. The power lies within the major media conglomerates like ESPN, NBC Sports and TNT, dictating what sports get broadcast, not only on television but also through their social media platforms. This idea of what sports get the most coverage comes from the amount of profit a game or team can make. It looks at commerciality from viewership, where money and profits are the driving factors, not the sport itself. This creates an imbalance where the sports and leagues that are less profitable become marginalized. In an article from Statista, it states that “the 2023–2024 season, the Golden State Warriors’ primary production costs include $215 million in player expenses and over $1.4 billion for their Chase Center arena. Production for a sports team refers to all the costs of putting their product—the game—on the court.” The Golden State Warriors are profitable, therefore prompting NBC Sports to further push out content, broadcasts and emphasis to continue viewership success.
On the other side of this is a less profitable league, the WNBA team for San Francisco, “The Valkyries,” where a yearly budget of production is not disclosed. Though no set number has been released to the public on the spending budget for production, the WNBA has faced marginalization for a long time, including a funding imbalance compared to the NBA. In an article from The Guardian, it states that “WNBA players are not paid what they are owed.” The WNBA operates as a burden of financial loss, while the NBA generates billions of dollars in revenue because they are given the platforms to do so within the dictates of the people in power within media conglomerates like ESPN and NBC Sports. This creates a fight against the media conglomerate’s power of control over what gets covered, funded and furthermore instills the dominance of the known sports teams people know and love.
Sports production has integrated the tools of technology and social media, and is now driven by those advancements. It is not based within a television and broadcast era anymore. Sports are sold as a commodity. Falling into the spectacle of commercialization within Marx’s critique. Looking at this from the perspective of a spectacle of commercialization, sports can be seen as being sold as a product of the media. Within each broadcast, show or post on social media, media conglomerates generate revenue.
Barstool Sports is a digital platform covering content across the world of sports, creating millions of dollars in revenue through social media, multimedia platforms, podcasts and merchandise. In February 2023, Barstool Sports was bought out for $551 million by Penn Entertainment, a media conglomerate specializing in sports betting. Through the use of social media and advancements in technology, multi-million dollar companies like Barstool Sports sell their content, creating a product of sports. The priority lies within the entertainment, and what is going to get people to view, interact and come back consciously for more content.
