A pageant of sound and vision: football's relationship with television, 1936–60

Citation

Haynes R (1998) A pageant of sound and vision: football's relationship with television, 1936–60. International Journal of the History of Sport, 15 (1), pp. 211-226. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523369808714022

Abstract
First paragraph: It is widely acknowledged that television has transformed, and is constantly transforming, professional football in the way in which it is organized, played and spectated. New deals are continually struck for astronomical fees as television companies, multinational sponsors and governing bodies seek to exploit the world game commercially. In Britain, the relationship between football and television has not, however, always been sanguine and throughout their historical association the struggles over the representation of the sport through the lens of the camera and the microphone, who this mediation is for, and when or how it is delivered, have often proved volatile. The main causes of these disruptions and altercations have been a set of conflicting agendas, which reflect the historical infrastructure of football as a professional sport and the unique political economy of British broadcasting formed by an uneasy marriage between public service broadcasting and commercial (otherwise labelled 'independent') television. How the discourses of these cultural industries combine or conflict, and ultimately construct televised football as a popular cultural form is a central focus of this article.

Journal
International Journal of the History of Sport: Volume 15, Issue 1