Game on - by David Bockino (Hardcover)

About the Book

Game On tells the story of how and why the sports media industry grew to become one of the most important and profitable components of the global entertainment landscape.

Book Synopsis

In Game On David Bockino, a former marketing and advertising manager at ESPN turned professor of communications and sport management, provides the first overview of the evolution of the sports media industry. Written at a time of great uncertainty and rapid change and told through the fascinating stories of the most important innovations, matchups, events, and personalities over the last hundred years, Game On explores how sports media both affects and reflects our society.

From the groundbreaking radio broadcast of the Jack Dempsey-Georges Carpentier boxing match in 1921 and the launch of Sports Illustrated magazine in 1954 to the birth of ESPN in 1979 and the unveiling of the NFL's yellow line in 1998, Game On details the most important events, platforms, and personalities in the evolution of the sports media industry. Early on, sports media had the unique ability to bring people together: nationally through the Olympic Games and regionally through telecasts of local professional teams. Increased interest led to more innovation and more options--cable TV, sports talk radio, internet broadcasts, and now multitudes of podcasts. With so many choices, some fans have begun to show deeper loyalties to brands or personalities in place of loyalties to teams or players. Today the personalization of sports content means broadcasters increasingly focus on what individual consumers want, often at the expense of the collective fan experience.

Exploring the evolution of the sports media industry can tell us a lot about how our world has changed over the past hundred years and how it might yet change in the future. Through an exploration of sports media trends, Bockino shows that the industry's privileging of personal over collective interests reflects how people today form and maintain their social identities--and sports' key role in shaping them.

Review Quotes

"Containing an ample number of facts and quotes, Game On is entertainingly written, comprehensive, and insightful. Bockino speaks with authority on shifts in culture, technical and tactical innovations in sports media, and key sporting events and personalities. Readers interested in sport media, or more generally sports and culture, will find Game On worth checking out."--Lisa Timpf, Sports Literature Association-- (8/14/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"This book is highly readable, and Bockino does an admirable job elucidating an ever-evolving subject."--J. A. Badics, Choice-- (9/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"Sports fans today have so many different ways to enjoy sports or associated aspects such as betting and fantasy games. How we got here today from the humble beginnings of a boxing match being broadcast on the radio in 1921 is told in this excellent book."--Guy Who Reviews Sports Books Blog-- (5/18/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"Where sports media is heading--and where it's been--is a vexing and complex question that impacts every sports fan. Those charged with broadcasting and chronicling the games we love are part of a multibillion-dollar business--and David Bockino has thrown himself into an examination of this ever-evolving world with passion and an engaging writing style. . . . Game On will help educate you as a sports consumer."--Richard Deitsch, writer for The Athletic and host of the Sports Media podcast

"Game On is an introspective look at the vastly changing landscape of sports media. Game On outlines what brought the industry to where it is today and explains to the reader why important moments such as the rise of ESPN, the emergence of fantasy sports, and the proliferation of special telecasts drew fan bases and increased sports' presence in everyday society. It's a fascinating read for any sports lover."--Emmanuel Morgan, sports reporter for the New York Times

"An excellent, comprehensive exploration into the evolution of sports media that takes the reader to all corners of the globe, bringing to life an impressive review of sports fan content consumption from the environs of Times Square in the twentieth century to the modern social media square of the twenty-first."--Peter Leimbach, senior vice president at Fox Sports Research

About the Author

David Bockino is an associate professor at Elon University, where he teaches communications and sport management. He spent more than seven years working with ESPN, including ESPN Outdoors, ESPN Research and Analytics, and ESPN International. He is the author of The Guidebook Experiment: Discovering Exploration in a Hyper-Connected World.