Sports broadcasting in England is widely believed to have started in January 1927. It was a Rugby Union match where England met Wales. Listeners to the broadcast used numbered grids published in the Radio Times so they could understand the area of the pitch the action was taking place. One of the commentator read out grid references during the match. The first live broadcast of a sporting event was a football match between Arsenal vs Arsenal Reserves on 16 September 1937.
The sound used in the broadcast was not the best quality, but for its era was ground breaking. The main problems were the recording systems, the quality and characteristics of the microphone, sound amplification, synchronization of the camera and sound playback were limited. The microphone had to be directional so that the audio was not drowned out by the ambient noise.
But they were not used until 1930 when it was developed by Harry Olsen. The film and sound was projected in a theatre, it meant that the amplification system had to be loud enough to be heard clearly by all the audience but remain undistorted.
This caused more people being interested in sound and brought a lot of “technological advancements between 1929 and 1950”. One of them being directional mics.
Directional mics have a cardioid pattern that picks up sound in a "heart-shaped" pattern, gathering more sound from one direction than another. There are many variations of the cardioid pattern like the hyper cardioid. This is an exaggerated version of the cardioid pattern. It is very directional and eliminates most sound from the sides and rear. Due to the long thin design of hyper cardioids, they are often referred to as shotgun microphones. The sound from these types of mics can sometimes be a little unnatural. It helps to add constant background noise at a low level. This is why we hear crowd noise in the background and has become a convention of any live sporting event.
With the use of directional microphones becoming the norm; in modern broadcasts of sports. They are being used for the benefit of the viewers. As television technology moved forward through time, sports broadcasting was wide ranging with a variety of sports being broadcast. Not all an enjoyable experience for the audience, where the audience took what they were given; in terms of quality and preference.
This was the analogue age. The invention of digital TV saw a turn in emphasis for the audience with channels catering for specific audiences becoming paramount with the emergence of broadcasters like sky sports and Euro sport. These new channels allowed other sports who would have not otherwise gain much more audience exposure. A classic example is speed way motor racing. To supplement this, the audience could choose to buy ‘new’ technologies like sound systems, where it “gives a sense of surround sound which in turn enhances the viewing experience. The new experience gave a sense that the viewer was at the sporting event”.
The next breakthrough in technology that really changed the experience for the audience is with the introduction of interactive television which puts the viewers in the driving seat and has made them feel part of the action. The authors states that TV interactivity extended choice into a new dimension and offered time-based data/information/transactional services.”
Rather than numbers of programs you get new functionality, for example different camera angles for a sports event. It gives the viewers the choice to save and watch games for later viewing, buddy lists, electronic program guides, instant messaging, interactive chat, interactive games, internet access, in addition video-on-demand. The emergence of these technologies allowed sports broadcasting to broaden its appeal, in addition making the viewer part of the sporting event.
The UK currently leads the world in interactive TV capability. The author states that
“In November 2000 5.64 million homes, had access to digital TV mostly led by satellite provider British Sky Broadcasting.
According to British Sky Broadcasting, which pioneered interactive sports content with Sky Sports Interactive, the author states that “36% of viewers now use its interactive sports service.” Designing content for interactive TV shows me that there is a potential for improvement in the sound for highlights packages. Which are frequently accessed through interactive TV.
The future for sports broadcasting is 3D. It has revolutioised the way we watch TV in the future and is being implemented by BSKYB. Football fans were able to watch the world's first live 3D TV sports broadcast when Arsenal met Manchester United. This shows that sports plays a huge part in implementing new technologies. BSkyB successfully broadcast the UK’s first live event in 3D TV to a domestic 3D television set in April 2009.
This has lead me to investigate my research question.
Research Question
Broadcasting live sporting events has been consistently changing over time with the advancements of technology. How has live sport matches accommodate this and manipulated sound for a better viewing experience?
I intend to research all the above mention elements using experiments. The aim of this is to
- Find and learn who the target audience is?
- Would they prefer another option rather than the conventions?
- Why some sports allow you hear more on the field action than others?
- If hearing on field action can be implemented into sports that don’t use this as a convention?
- with new technology like 3d becoming the popular can 3d sound work in a 2d environment?
- With the emergence of 3d TVs becoming more popular, is their the potential of the 3d sound and video be made into highlighted packages for use with interactive TV?
I will try and find the answers to these question in the next phase of my research where i will make experiments to prove or disprove the above questions?
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