South African Sport in the Global Media Arena

222 Pages·2009·3.8 MB·English

South African Sport in the Global Media Arena: tackling issues of globalisation
and media control and their impact on the national interest

By

Shaun Ross Ryan

2008

Supervisor
Prof. Ruth Teer-Tomaselli

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University of KwaZulu-Natal
Howard College
Declaration

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Science, in the
Graduate Programme in Culture, Communication and Media Studies, University of
KwaZulu-Natal, Durban South Africa.

I, Shaun Ross Ryan, declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. All citations,
references and borrowed ideas have been duly acknowledged. It is being submitted for the
degree of Master of Social Science in the Faculty of Humanities, Development and Social
Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban South Africa. None of the present work has
been submitted previously for any degree or examination in any other university.

Signed: ________________________________________.

November 2008

The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) is hereby
acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the
researcher and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................vi
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................viii
List of Acronyms ......................................................................................................................ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 The people’s players ............................................................................................................1
1.2 South African sport in the global media arena ....................................................................3
1.2.1 The need for an inquiry into sports broadcasting rights .......................................4
1.2.2 Rugby’s progression: ideology, policy, television and the audience ...................5
1.2.3 Coming to terms with ‘broadcasting’ ...................................................................6
1.3 Structure of dissertation ......................................................................................................7

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................9
2.2 Understanding the nation ....................................................................................................9
2.2.1 Globalisation and the nation ...............................................................................12
2.2.2 Print-capitalism and language ............................................................................14
2.2.3 Myths, symbols and symbolic events .................................................................19
2.2.4 National interest and nationhood ........................................................................24
2.3 Sport and the media ...........................................................................................................29
2.3.1 South African’s playing field .............................................................................30
2.3.2 South African sports broadcasting .....................................................................32
2.3.3 Nature of sport and rugby in South Africa .........................................................37
2.3.4 Sport as a form of social integration ..................................................................42
2.3.5 The national interest and sport in South Africa ..................................................45
2.4 The value of this research: what space is left? ..................................................................46

CHAPTER THREE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................49
3.2 Sports media and globalisation .........................................................................................49
3.2.1 What is globalisation? ........................................................................................50
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3.2.2 Digitization and convergence .............................................................................52
3.2.3 Television, sport and globalisation .....................................................................54
3.3. Political economy of sports media ...................................................................................57
3.3.1 The four cornerstones of political economy .......................................................61
3.3.2 Creating concentrations: media, sport and integration .......................................63
3.3.3 Commodification ................................................................................................69
3.4 Audience as commodity ....................................................................................................72
3.4.1 Selling the audience ...........................................................................................73
3.4.2 Knowing your audience .....................................................................................75
3.4.3 Audience as the consumer ..................................................................................76
3.5 The audience in the public realm ......................................................................................77
3.5.1 Public service broadcasting: normative requirements ........................................78
3.5.2 Eight principles and objectives of public service broadcasting .........................79
3.5.3 Approaching the audience ..................................................................................84
3.6 Reception Theory ..............................................................................................................84
3.6.1 Stuart Hall’s model of encoding and decoding ..................................................86
3.6.2 The ‘active’ and ‘passive’ audience ...................................................................90
3.7 Hegemony .........................................................................................................................93

CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................95
4.2 Research problems and objectives ....................................................................................95
4.3 Qualitative and quantitative research ................................................................................96
4.3.1 Qualitative research ............................................................................................96
4.3.2 Quantitative research ..........................................................................................97
4.4 Research methods used .....................................................................................................99
4.4.1 Policy scrutiny ....................................................................................................99
4.4.2 Interviews .........................................................................................................100
4.4.3 Audience survey: SAARF analysis ..................................................................105
4.5 Difficulties faced during the research process ................................................................106
4.6 Validity and reliability ....................................................................................................108
4.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................109

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CHAPTER FIVE: RESEARCH RESULTS
5.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................110
5.2 The national interest ........................................................................................................110
5.3 Media control and advertising .........................................................................................114
5.4 Nation-building ...............................................................................................................116

CHAPTER SIX: IDENTIFYING THE NATIONAL INTEREST
6.1 Introduction and need for ICASA inquiry .......................................................................119
6.2 Visual Quotas: deconstructing the ICASA Position Paper .............................................120
6.3 Cracking the code: defining the national interest ............................................................123
6.3.1 Responsible broadcasting: meeting all the players’ needs ...............................130
6.3.2 Soccer broadcasting rights in South Africa: regulating controversy ................133
6.4 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................135

CHAPTER SEVEN: MEDIA CONTROL AND MONEY
7.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................136
7.2 Negotiating globalisation ................................................................................................136
7.3 The benefits of sports broadcasting .................................................................................140
7.3.1 SuperSport on the charge .................................................................................142
7.3.2 Advertising .......................................................................................................143
7.3.3 Advantage Vodacom ........................................................................................145
7.4 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................149

CHAPTER EIGHT: PLAYING FOR THE NATION
8.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................150
8.2 Team allegiances .............................................................................................................151
8.3 Creating a common experience .......................................................................................152
8.3.1 The Springboks are the national interest ..........................................................153
8.3.2 More rewards, more appeal ..............................................................................156
8.3.3 Red-carding provincialism ...............................................................................159
8.3.4 The Springboks and South Africa ....................................................................161
8.4 The long and short of it: constructing a nation or weekend patriotism? .........................167
8.5 Hands in the ruck: political involvement and rugby .......................................................169
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8.6 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................171

CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSION
9.1 Playing beyond the final whistle .....................................................................................173
9.2 Rugby and the global entertainment industry ..................................................................173
9.2.1 Recommendation ..............................................................................................175
9.3 Future Research ...............................................................................................................176
9.4 The national interest and the nation ................................................................................177

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................180
APPENDICES .....................................................................................................................194

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Acknowledgements
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped me produce a
research dissertation that I am extremely proud of and have thoroughly enjoyed writing. For
me, my time at university has been more than just an academic journey and, for this reason,
there are a number of people who need to be credited. I would like to start off by
acknowledging the financial contributions made by the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the
National Research Foundation (NRF) to my post-graduate studies. Your sponsorship and
support have made being a student that much easier. Thank you.

The biggest ‘thank you’ is directed towards my parental piggybank. Thank you for
providing me with all the resources that I needed to complete my studies. Your efforts have
extended far beyond what most people would ever expect from their parents and I am truly
thankful for this. Thank you for supporting me throughout all of my endeavours, whether
academic, sporting or cultural. You have both provided me with a solid foundation on which
I will build my future. A future built around family values, trust and a respect for hard work.
It was always great to know that somewhere on the sidelines mom and dad were closely
watching my life unfold and always willing to offer valuable advice and insight whenever
needed. Mark and Kelly also deserve a lot of recognition for putting up with an often moody
(especially in the mornings) middle child. Thank you for being there when I needed to laugh
or hear someone whistle an alternate ending to pretty much any song!

I have had the pleasure of crossing paths with a number of very influential people
whilst at UKZN. A very big thank you to my supervisor, Prof. Ruth Teer-Tomaselli for
helping me plot the direction of my dissertation and for providing much needed insight into
the main themes of my research. Others who have provided valuable support include Prof.
Keyan Tomaselli, Prof. Jean-Philippe Wade, Zoë Molver and Anusharani Govender.
Conversations with Prof. Jean-Philippe Wade about anything and everything from rock music
and the Greek islands to university related topics have all been most enjoyable. I am also
indebted to Anusharani Govender for often taking me on as a student of her own and helping
me through the difficult aspects of writing a dissertation. Thank you for being an academic
role model and a friend when needed. I would also like to thank Mrs. Pam de Beer for always
being available for a quick chat whenever I was in the department. Thank you for always
putting a positive spin on things and for all of your encouragement. Much appreciated!
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A lot gets said in Culture, Communication and Media Studies (CCMS) about the
benefits of a community of scholars. These benefits have indeed been noticed over the past
two years. The interaction between all the postgraduates down at the end of the passage is
truly commendable. Thank you for all the comments made at Friday afternoon seminars and
the quick discussions in and around the offices regarding dissertation progress. To Lauren;
Karen; Abdi; Abraham; Kate; Tom; John; Irene; Simon; Junaid; Mick; Given; Gail and most
importantly my office mates over the past two years, Alison and Chris, a very big thank you
for all of your support and kindness. I am happy and privileged to be in a position to call all
of you my friends. I think Abraham was right when he said that the best times had down the
passage were the birthday and celebratory parties – when everyone would put work aside for
a while and even Abdi would venture out of his office, provide some valuable wisdom and
follow it up by forwarding the most unexpected of emails! Thank you all.

I have been very fortunate to make some extraordinary friends whilst on campus. I am
especially happy to have met and worked with all of those making up 2muchredjuice
(Chris, Kathryn, Lauren, Mitch, Felicity and Tanya) and will look back fondly at the many
hours spent bouncing ideas off each other – all wearing different hats – whilst planning and
executing our campaigns. Thank you all for making undergrad such an awesome experience.
I look forward to the next instalment of 2muchredjuice mania when we are all next in
Durban. My friends from outside my university environment also deserve mention for putting
up with me when I may have come across as preoccupied with my dissertation and engrossed
in my work. The process is almost over now and I eagerly await ‘parking off’ with you guys
and enjoying a few cold ones whilst having one of those totally insane and off the wall
conversations.

I would also like to make use of this opportunity to thank the 3rd year Media and
Cultural studies class of 2008 for allowing me into a number of your courses, as both a tutor
and course co-ordinator. I have enjoyed interacting with all of you over the past two years
and have been lucky enough to make friends with some of you outside of university as well. I
wish you all the very best for your end of year exams and look forward to working with you
as media professionals in the years to come.

Shaun
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Abstract

This dissertation sets out to identify the national interest in terms of South African sport, as
represented by the 2003 ICASA Position Paper and Regulations on Sports Broadcasting
Rights. The dissertation focuses on South African rugby which, along with cricket and soccer,
is one of the main sports deemed to be in the national interest. The government’s use of
televised sport as a means of disseminating the ideology of nationalism amongst South
Africans is explored. A critique of the national interest is provided with the importance of
private, commercial broadcasters to the financial sustainability of sporting unions stressed.
Commercial broadcasters are often the only broadcasters capable of acquiring sports
broadcasting rights at international market related prices. Commercial broadcasters are,
therefore, important to the longevity of professional sports and cannot be sidelined by related
policies which could give preference to free-to-air broadcasters. The concept of ‘responsible
broadcasting’ is introduced as a means of maintaining the national interest. Broadcasters,
sporting unions and the public are imperative to the promotion of the national interest and
are analysed further in this regard. The dissertation ends with a discussion of televised
sports’ contribution towards efforts of nation-building within a South African context. This
discussion establishes whether rugby events deemed to be in the national interest are readily
accepted by South African audiences and warrant their inclusion in future ICASA policies.

Key Words: National interest, sport, rugby, ICASA, political economy, globalisation, nation-
building, national identity, South Africa.

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List of Acronyms

ABSA Amalgamated Banks of South Africa
ANC African National Congress
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
CCMS Culture, Communication and Media Studies
COSATU Congress of South African Trade Unions
CPNV Custodian Promoting Normative Values
DStv Digital Satellite Television
DVD Digital Versatile Disk
ERC European Rugby Cup
ICASA Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
ICC International Cricket Council
IPL Indian Premier League
IRB International Rugby Board
LSM Living Standard Measure
M-Net Electronic Media Network
MTV Music Television
NBC National Broadcasting Company
NRF National Research Foundation
ODI One Day International
PSL Premier Soccer League
SAARF South African Advertising Research Foundation
SABC South African Broadcast Corporation
SANZAR South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby
SARFU South African Rugby Football Union
SARU South African Rugby Union
TAMS Television Audience Measures
UEFA Union of European Football Associations
VCR Videocassette Recorder

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