This book enables students to grasp the holistic enterprise of social media as it pertains to social, legal, marketing, and management issues. The book also helps students better understand the research process in social media scholarship and make connections with academic research and applied practice in sport studies.

Live broadband streaming of the 2008 Beijing Olympics accounted for 2,200 of the estimated 3,600 total hours shown by the American NBC-Universal networks. At the 2012 London Olympics, unprecedented multi-platforming embraced online, mobile devices, game consoles and broadcast television, with the BBC providing 2,500 hours of live coverage, including every competitive event, much in high definition and some in 3D. The BBC also had 12 million requests for video on mobile phones and 9.2 million browsers on its mobile Olympics website and app. This pattern will only intensify at future sport mega events like the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, both of which will take place in Brazil. Increasingly, when people talk of the screen that delivers footage of their favorite professional sport, they are describing desktop, laptop, and tablet computer screens as well as television and mobile handsets. Digital Media Sport analyzes the intersecting issues of technological change, market power, and cultural practices that shape the contemporary global sports media landscape. The complexity of these related issues demands an interdisciplinary approach that is adopted here in a series of thematically-organized essays by international scholars working in media studies, Internet studies, sociology, cultural studies, and sport studies. .

This book takes a close look at social media in sport and considers its significance for sport business and for the wider relationship between sport and society. Presenting new research, case studies and data, it examines the way people use social media, the changing art of managing social media platforms, and the theory and concepts that inform research on this important topic. Featuring the work of leading sport researchers from around the world, the book presents evidence-based analysis of contemporary topics including fan engagement, athlete activism, branding and sponsorship strategies, sportswashing, public relations and crisis communication. It presents case studies from sports and events such as the Olympic Games, the WNBA, professional football leagues, and Peloton, and across social media platforms including TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. This is essential reading for anybody with an interest in sport media, sport business, the sociology of sport, digital business, or new media studies.

Social media communications play a huge role in the day-to-day operations of sport teams and organizations. Both current and aspiring sport business professionals need to know how to best leverage social media to meet their organizational goals, and Social Media and Sports With Web Resource will help pave the way by emphasizing the strategic, creative, and logistical elements of effective social media practices. Beginning with foundational concepts, students will first examine the history of social media and its impact on sports. They will learn about the categories of content used, including written content, images, produced video, live video, audio, graphics, dynamic visuals, and responses. They will then gain a better understanding of the social media environment by learning how to think about audiences and networks, evaluating how online communities act and interact, and considering key issues that may be encountered. The final chapters of the text assemble the building blocks from previous chapters into practical application, covering brand management strategies and overall social media presence from the perspective of a member of the sports media, a representative of a team or league, or an individual athlete. A related web resource, reviewed annually to stay current with evolving trends, provides a detailed look into major social networks and their technological elements, plus best practices, tips, and tricks for utilizing a variety of social media platforms. It also examines content methodologies, including podcasting, live video, and prerecorded video, and it discusses the use of social management software. Markers throughout the text refer students to the web resource when additional related content is available. Learning aids for students include Professional Insights, sidebars containing interviews with industry insiders; these real-world examples and professional advice provide depth and context to each chapter’s content. Key Points highlight important points, end-of-chapter review questions promote practical application and ensure content comprehension, and bolded key terms are defined in an easy-to-reference glossary. Social Media and Sports offers a practical approach to understanding social media communications in the sports industry, with application extending to those working in journalism, public relations, broadcasting, advertising, and other sport business careers where knowledge of effective social media usage will maximize career potential. Note: The web resource is included with all new print books and some ebooks. For ebook formats that don’t provide access, the web resource is available separately.

From the Preface: "Not surprisingly, companies of all sizes are using social media as part of their marketing and public relations efforts. The growth of the social media phenomenon and constant advances in technology obviously create unique and powerful opportunities for those able to capitalize on them. The question is how best to do so? Social Media in Sport Marketing has been created to help answer this question as it pertains to sport organizations." Written from the perspective of sport professionals, this brief but thorough text explores the concepts, tools, and issues surrounding social media and marketing, with reader-friendly examples and applications specifically from the world of sports. The authors connect industry-specific content with current trends in social media and provide readers with a balance between theory and experience. Instructors and students can use the book as a primary resource for teaching and learning about traditional sport marketing/public relations principles as they relate to social media. Instructors will appreciate the inclusion of case studies, which can be used to generate discussions; students will benefit from the numerous examples. The book can also serve as a guidebook for those who want to put ideas into action immediately. The experienced author team includes a sport marketing professor as well as practitioners involved in social media project management and development.

Defining Sport Communication is a comprehensive resource addressing core topics and issues, including humanistic, organizational, relational, and mediated approaches to the study of sport communication. It provides foundational work in sport communication for students and scholars, reflecting the abundance of research published in recent years and the ever-increasing interest in this area of study. Bringing together scholars from various epistemological viewpoints within communication, this volume provides a unique opportunity for defining the breadth and depth of sport communication research. It will serve as a seminal reference for existing scholarship while also providing an agenda for future research.

Sport is a universal feature of global popular culture. It shapes our identities, affects our relationships, and defines our communities. It also influences our consumption habits, represents our cultures, and dramatizes our politics. In other words, sport is among the most prominent vehicles for communication available in daily life. Nevertheless, only recently has it begun to receive robust attention in the discipline of communication studies. The handbook of Communication and Sport attends to the recent and rapid growth of scholarship in communication and media studies that features sport as a central site of inquiry. The book attempts to capture a full range of methods, theories, and topics that have come to define the subfield of "communication and sport" or "sports communication." It does so by emphasizing four primary features. First, it foregrounds "communication" as central to the study of sport. This emphasis helps to distinguish the book from collections in related disciplines such as sociology, and also points readers beyond media as the primary or only context for understanding the relationship between communication and sport. Thus, in addition to studies of media effects, mediatization, media framing, and more, readers will also engage with studies in interpersonal, intercultural, organizational, and rhetorical communication. Second, the handbook presents an array of methods, theories, and topics in the effort to chart a comprehensive landscape of communication and sport scholarship. Thus, readers will benefit from empirical, interpretive, and critical work, and they will also see studies drawing on varied texts and sites of inquiry. Third, the handbook of Communication and Sport includes a broad range of scholars from around the world. It is therefore neither European nor North American in its primary focus. In addition, the book includes contributors from commonly under-represented regions in Asia, Africa, and South America. Fourth, the handbook aims to account for both historical trajectories and contemporary areas of interest. In this way, it covers the central topics, debates, and perspectives from the past and also suggests continued and emerging pathways for the future. Collectively, the handbook of Communication and Sport aspires to provide scholars and students in communication and media studies with the most comprehensive assessment of the field available.