How do commercialisation, sponsorship and the media shape modern sport?
Commercialisation and the media: the golden triangle of sport, media and sponsorship, the positive and negative effects of commercialisation, and the role of the media in shaping sport.
A focused answer to Eduqas A-Level PE on commercialisation and the media: the golden triangle of sport, media and sponsorship, the positive and negative effects of commercialisation on performers, sport and spectators, and the role of the media (including social media) in shaping modern sport.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas wants you to explain the golden triangle, the positive and negative effects of commercialisation, and the role of the media in shaping sport.
The golden triangle
The effects of commercialisation
The role of the media
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 20184 marksExplain the golden triangle in sport, naming its three parts and one way each part benefits from the others.Show worked answer →
A Component 1 commercialisation question. One mark for each part, one for a benefit link.
The golden triangle is the mutually dependent relationship between sport, the media and business or sponsorship. Sport provides the entertainment and the audience that the media broadcasts and that sponsors want to reach; the media (television and broadcasters) pays large sums for the rights to show sport, funding the sport and giving sponsors exposure to viewers; and business or sponsors pay sport and the media for advertising and association with successful teams and athletes, providing income to both. So each part feeds the others: sport supplies the product and audience, the media supplies coverage and rights fees, and sponsors supply money, and all three grow together.
A common dropped mark is naming the three parts without explaining how they depend on each other.
Eduqas 20216 marksDiscuss the positive and negative effects of the commercialisation of sport on performers and spectators.Show worked answer →
A Component 1 commercialisation discussion. Markers reward balanced effects on both groups and a judgement.
Award marks for positives for performers: higher incomes, full-time professionalism and better facilities, equipment, coaching and sports science, raising standards; greater fame and sponsorship opportunities. For spectators: more events broadcast, higher production quality, more access (highlights, replays, multiple camera angles, global reach) and a higher standard of performance. Negatives for performers: greater pressure to win and perform, a packed fixture schedule causing fatigue and injury, loss of control over their image, and rules or timings changed to suit broadcasters rather than athletes; the temptation of deviance (doping) to meet commercial demands. Negatives for spectators: the cost of tickets and subscription television (sport behind paywalls reduces access), events scheduled at inconvenient times for broadcasters, over-commercialisation and advertising, and a focus on a few popular sports while minority sports lose coverage. A judgement might be that commercialisation has raised standards and access overall but at the cost of higher pressure on performers and reduced free access for spectators, so its benefits are real but unevenly shared.
A top answer balances clear positives and negatives for both performers and spectators and reaches a reasoned conclusion.
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Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas A Level Physical Education Specification — Eduqas (2016)