The media is often considered to provide three broad functions in a society: information, education and entertainment. However, in terms of the sport–media relationship, it has become increasingly clear that media organizations and consumers are interested in professional sport in particular because of its entertainment value.

The exploits of leagues, teams and athletes are reported throughout the world, across a wide range of print (e.g. newspapers and magazines) and broadcast (e.g. radio, television and the internet) media. Some of this media coverage is provided as ‘news’, which essentially means that media organizations report on what is happening in sport in much the same way they report on politics or world events. However, a significant component of broadcast coverage is provided through exclusive arrangements in which media organizations purchase the rights to broadcast an event or season(s).

In understanding the management of the sport–media relationship it is important to keep in mind that the word ‘media’ has a diverse set of meanings. The word ‘media’ can represent the entire media industry, particularly when we refer to the sport–media relationship, or the way in which the media reports on a particular sport or athlete.

The word media can also be used to refer to a form, channel, platform, company, network or station, depending on the context. Television, radio, print and internet can all be considered media forms or distribution channels. These media forms and channels also have individual outlets: television networks or stations; specific newspapers; radio stations or internet websites.

These outlets are typically privately owned and employ journalists, writers and commentators to generate content, in order to attract an audience, in the hope of returning a profit. A television network is typically a collection of individual stations that people tune into to watch their favourite sport or catch up on daily news, which is owned by a media company.

More recently, the term platform has been used to describe media such as Facebook or Twitter, where the interactivity and user-drivencontent is such that they cannot be considered a media outlet in the same way as a single newspaper or television station.