Packaging the Games for Viewer Consumption

Billings & Angelini’s (2007) article “Packaging the Games for Viewer Consumption: Gender, Ethnicity, and Nationality in NBC’s Coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympics” discusses inherent biases within the broadcasting of the Olympic Games. They argue that, during the Olympics, white American male athletes receive the majority of media attention in the US. Certainly this should be unsurprising to anybody who has ever watched the Olympics. While Billings & Angelini (2007) do illustrate that progress is being made (non-white athletes are being praised more often for intelligence and determination, and women are being complemented more for their talent), the focus remains on white American males.

I will not argue against the point that women and minority athletes should receive more positive attention during the Olympic Games- it is clear that, despite progress in recent Games, they are still underrepresented in the media. However, I am unmoved that there is something wrong with placing the focus on American athletes. After all, NBC is an American broadcasting company focusing on an American audience. Is this practice a bit ethnocentric? Of course, however, it is no different than most sporting events. After all, when watching an Indians-Yankees game on SportsTime Ohio (the Indians’ cable channel), one would expect the focus of commentary to be on, say, Shin-Soo Choo’s approach at the plate. Likewise, when watching the same game on the YES Network (the Yankees’ cable channel), one would expect the focus of commentary to be on, say, Alex Rodriguez’s defense. Sure, the YES commentators will talk about Choo to some extent (and vice versa), but it is perfectly normal to focus on the home team, and that is exactly what NBC is doing.

Personally, I am only a casual Olympic fan- I’ll watch some events, but, in general, I could care less about track & field, swimming, and gymnastics. However, when I think of major Olympic stories, two events come to mind- Jesse Owens winning Gold in Hitler’s Berlin in 1936 and the US Men’s Hockey Team winning Gold at Lake Placid in 1980 (The Miracle on Ice). However, I recognize these as great events because I am American. For example, Russians probably don’t remember Lake Placid as fondly as Americans, but still cherish the memory of winning Gold in basketball in 1972 over the US. The reason I bring these examples up is to illustrate that we, as a country, relish the opportunity to unite behind our Olympic teams once every two years (or four, if you really hate either the Summer or Winter Games), and NBC is probably right to cash in on that nationalism. Sure, we take notice when a foreign athlete accomplishes something truly great (Usain Bolt comes to mind), but, when broadcasting to an American audience, there is nothing wrong with focusing on American athletes.

With that said, I am curious what a similar study would show in relation to another country’s telecasts of the Olympic Games in relation to focusing on themselves.