The medialization of sport - from an elite athlete's perspective : A study of elite athletes views of the development of the media and its impact on the sport in general and their athletic performance.

Changes in media technology and markets create new demands and challenges for society. The relationship between sport and the media is an example. Sport as a form of entertainment provides pleasure and excitement for the audience and high ratings for networks and media companies. This study examines elite athletes’ views of media coverage and the extent to which such coverage affects their athletic performance. The method used combines semi-structures interviews with a hermeneutic approach. The theoretical framework encompasses both gender and media theories combined with concepts of medialization and commercialization. There are six resultant themes. They include discussions of current sport journalism, the pressures generated by media coverage, the importance of sponsors, trademarks, the advantages and disadvantages of social media, and gender in sport. The primary conclusion is that the media have great impact on athletes. The athletes particularly stress the numerous ways the behavior and the action patterns of the reporters and media affect them.