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The power of the local in sports broadcasting: a cross-cultural analysis of rugby commentary

Abstract
This article explores how local pressures intersect to produce differing broadcasts in 2 cultural contexts. This is achieved via a cross-cultural analysis of a decade of tele¬vised rugby union matches between France and New Zealand and interviews with leading commentators in both countries. The authors argue that although the over-arching commercial imperative to capture audiences might be the same in both coun¬tries, and despite global tendencies toward homogenized presentation of sports events, there are local differences in expectations about which kinds of audiences should be captured, and these lead to different practices and emphases in the live broadcasts. The authors suggest that in each country, broadcasts are the result of a complex set of pressures that interact to produce broadcasts with “local” flavor and characteristics.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Desmarais, F., & Bruce, T. (2009). The power of the local in sports broadcasting: a cross-cultural analysis of rugby commentary. International Journal of Sport Communication, 2(2), 129-144.
Date
2009
Publisher
Human Kinetics Inc
Degree
Supervisors
Rights
This article has been published in the International Journal of Sport Communication. Used with permission.