Many people prefer watching sports on television rather than going to the stadium. You feel comfortable at home. You can get yourself a snack without needing to wait in long lines. Most importantly, TV gives you the best view of the action. You get to listen to expert match commentary and the scorecard is displayed on TV so you know exactly what is going on during the match. It also costs less to watch a game at home rather than going to the stadium.
Dish TV packages offer a wide variety of channels to choose from. Whether it’s sports, movies, news, or any other entertainment, the Dish network has something for everyone.
Sports broadcasting has changed considerably over time. Let’s see how sports broadcasting has evolved.
The Early Years
There was very limited sports coverage before TV. Sports updates were sent through the telegraph during the early 20th century. There would then be public announcements telling game results. Radio broadcasts also started around the same time. Although there was still no visual coverage, people could at least follow their sports in the comfort of their homes. There were times when sports highlights would be shown in movie theatres before shows started. The only way to visually watch sports in real-time was to go to the stadium.
In the 1930s, television sets were introduced in America. However, they were expensive so only rich households could afford them. NBC became the first American sports broadcaster. They televised a college baseball match between the Princeton Tigers and Columbia Lions. The 1936 Summer Olympics was the first international sports event to be televised. But TV sets would only start getting popular in America after the end of the Second World War.
The 1950s
The United States experienced heightened economic growth in the 1950s. With this growth came greater purchasing power. Finally, it became affordable for the common man to buy TV sets. Now people could watch sports in the comfort of their homes. Initial television broadcasts were black and white but not long after in the 1960s, color broadcasts made their debut.
TV Stations
CBS, NBC, and ABC emerged as the major US TV networks. These networks covered all major sports popular in America. Apart from these networks, syndicated networks also broadcast sports events. These networks were local stations having affiliation with one of the three major networks.
Although these networks broadcasted a variety of sports events, the time they allotted to sports was still limited. Most sports fans felt quite deprived. There was a market for a dedicated 24/7 sports channel. Someone just needed to tap into this market.
ESPN
ESPN was launched in 1979 as a dedicated sports channel. It started as a cable channel. They began covering all kinds of sports. They also had programs like SportsCentre, which featured sports news and match highlights. It was truly a revolution in sports broadcasting. ESPN’s popularity exploded after they bought the rights to cover US college basketball matches.
ESPN has since emerged as a sports broadcasting giant. It now covers all kinds of sports across the world. It now has a global broadcast reach.
Pay-Per-View TV
Pay-Per-View (PPV) TV was the predecessor to streaming TV. In PPV, viewers pay to watch sports events through a private telecast. Early PPV broadcasts were closed-circuit telecasts. They were popular with sports like boxing. They would be shown in theaters to simulate the environment of a boxing or wrestling ring. People would purchase tickets just like they do for movies.
The 1980s to Modern Era
Home PPV TV was introduced in the 1980s. Now there was no need to go to a theater to watch a PPV event. Now people could watch PPV events in their homes. A PPV event was now just a phone call away. Boxing continued to be a popular PPV event. Boxing fights would regularly get millions of PPV subscriptions. They would however receive competition from another combat sport, wrestling. In 1985, WWE’s Wrestlemania made its debut on PPV TV. Boxing and wrestling would continue to remain popular with PPV TV.
Streaming Services
A streaming service is any media service provided to viewers through the internet. Users are typically charged a monthly fee to use streaming services. Initial video streaming was limited to websites like YouTube and Netflix. However, sports broadcasters would soon catch up. Now all major sports broadcasters offer streaming services in America as well as across the world.
Summing Up
Sports broadcasting today is unrecognizable from its early days. Initially, sports received very limited coverage. Then dedicated sports channels were launched. And now we have streaming services where we can watch broadcasts across multiple devices.
