Impact of sports on society
Impact of sports on society
Is there anything more exciting than watching the hometown team go on a big run in October with the World Series at stake? Have you ever seen a more clutch setting than Tiger Woods in his prime, stroking a forty foot putt for four million big ones? There are many nuances of the sporting world that could bring tears to your ' eyes, or perhaps.. cause the entire city of Vancouver to riot. There is no doubt that here in America we are all about our sports, but is that always a good thing? With ESPN Sportscenter running around the clock pumping all of today’s talking points into your head, it 's becoming taboo not to have a team, club, or player you associate with. While they 're are many negative implications of such an obsession, today I 'm here to discuss why Americans place too much emphasis on sports and the negative impact it has on our psyche. First, lets start off with some statistics. When the everyday American thinks of the Disney corporation, they most often associate the word with theme parks and dusty VHS tapes. Something most Americans don 't know is that Disney doesn 't pull all of its money in from these fairy tales and theme parks. Disney is a multinational mass media corporation, and in 1996 they bought Capital Cities / ABC conglomerates for 19 billion dollars. This is big money, but the smart executives at Disney recognized the potential payout in newly budding stations such as ESPN (there was only one back then). Fast forward to 2013, and ESPN is worth 40 Billion dollars by itself. There are only two media companies in the world that worth more than this single station (which is now 7 stations). Disney pulls in about half of its company value from ESPN and other broadcasts. So for every single child begging his parents to buy a new piece of Mickey Mouse memorabilia or go to Disney world, or buy any Disney related product. There is an equivalent dollar amount generated from our adult fanbase stuck to their TVs
Is there anything more exciting than watching the hometown team go on a big run in October with the World Series at stake? Have you ever seen a more clutch setting than Tiger Woods in his prime, stroking a forty foot putt for four million big ones? There are many nuances of the sporting world that could bring tears to your ' eyes, or perhaps.. cause the entire city of Vancouver to riot. There is no doubt that here in America we are all about our sports, but is that always a good thing? With ESPN Sportscenter running around the clock pumping all of today’s talking points into your head, it 's becoming taboo not to have a team, club, or player you associate with. While they 're are many negative implications of such an obsession, today I 'm here to discuss why Americans place too much emphasis on sports and the negative impact it has on our psyche. First, lets start off with some statistics. When the everyday American thinks of the Disney corporation, they most often associate the word with theme parks and dusty VHS tapes. Something most Americans don 't know is that Disney doesn 't pull all of its money in from these fairy tales and theme parks. Disney is a multinational mass media corporation, and in 1996 they bought Capital Cities / ABC conglomerates for 19 billion dollars. This is big money, but the smart executives at Disney recognized the potential payout in newly budding stations such as ESPN (there was only one back then). Fast forward to 2013, and ESPN is worth 40 Billion dollars by itself. There are only two media companies in the world that worth more than this single station (which is now 7 stations). Disney pulls in about half of its company value from ESPN and other broadcasts. So for every single child begging his parents to buy a new piece of Mickey Mouse memorabilia or go to Disney world, or buy any Disney related product. There is an equivalent dollar amount generated from our adult fanbase stuck to their TVs
Cited: Badenhausen, Kurt. "Why ESPN Is Worth $40 Billion As The World 's Most Valuable Media Property." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 09 Nov. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. Burns, Patrick. "23 Percent Of All SportsCenter Programming Last Week Was Devoted To The Miami Heat." Deadspin. Patrick Burns, 31 May 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.