This chapter outlines basic issues related to the study and practice of sport commu- nication, which has spurred much of the growth in the sport industry as a whole. No other media segment is growing as fast as sport media (Andrews, 2013), and the increased mass media coverage and financial backing have tremendously affected the sport industry, particularly the most popular professional team sports and the revenue-producing intercollegiate sports in the United States. Without effective com- munication in, between, and about sport organizations, the sport industry would not be as large and influential as it is today. Indeed, much of the reason for the enormity of the sport industry can be traced to some aspect of sport communication whether interpersonal, organization, mass mediated, or involving support services. In keeping with these realities, this chapter emphasizes the need for future sport industry leaders to obtain strong academic preparation, both in sport management generally and in sport communication in particular. The chapter concludes with suggestions to make sport communication students as marketable and knowledge- able as possible through reading outside materials and participating in academic and professional activities. Review Questions 1. What are the size and scope of the sport industry? 2. How is the sport industry segmented? 3. What are examples of some sport leagues or organizations that currently hold lucrative television rights deals in the United States? 4. Why are communication skills important in any position in the sport industry? 5. Why is professional development important when preparing for a career in sport communication? Individual Exercises M. Choose a sport, sport entity, or segment of the sport industry. Write a one- or two- page summary statement describing how your chosen subject has contributed to the growth of the sport industry. Share your findings with the class. 2. Write a description of an ideal job that you would like to pursue in the field of sport communication. List five courses offered at your university that can best prepare you for this profession, and provide your rationales for your selected courses. the economy-from advertising and apparel, to computer technology and video games, to travel and tourism" (p. 230). Nearly 30 years ago, the U.S. gross national sport product-the sum total of value added with respect to sport over one year was estimated at $50 billion (Sandomir, 1988). A decade later, Meek (1997) noted that the sport industry accounted for about $152 billion and supported another $259 billion in eco- nomic activity (also referred to as the gross domestic sport product). Nearing the first decade of the 21st century, the size of the annual sport industry in the United States was esti- mated at $213 billion by Sports Business Journal (Broughton, Lee, & Nethery, 1999). In addition, Milano and Chel- ladurai (2011) used guidelines from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis to esti- mate the size of the gross domestic U.S. sport product at between $168 billion and $207 billion for 2005. How- ever, sport television rights deals have since exploded, and the sport industry escaped largely unscathed from the 2007-2008 financial crises that led to the 2008-2012 global economic reces- sion. Most recently, Plunkett research estimated the total value of the annual global sport industry at $1.3 trillion USD in 2016, including $540 billion in the United States alone ("Sports Industry Overview," 2016). If that estimate is accurate, then the sport industry in the United States is seven times larger than the U.S. movie industry and twice the size of the U.S. auto industry (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2015). More generally, a 2012 study of professional sport leagues and teams by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney valued the overall sport industry at $480 billion to $620 billion and concluded that the global sport industry was growing faster than the gross domestic products of China, Brazil, India, and Russia (Borland, Kane, & Burton, 2014). NIKE.C U.S.-based companies realize the greatest potential for sport industry growth lies in foreign countries. For example, Oregon- based Nike has 1,182 official stores, 790 of which are located outside of the United States, including this Nike store in Seoul, South Korea (Pratap, 2018). Moreover, sport finance professors Fried, DeSchriver, and Mondello (2013) pointed out that many estimates examine only organized sport for spectators and consumers, thus leaving out major areas of the sport industry (e.g., personal golf, fish- ing trips). Therefore, the actual size of the global sport industry may be even higher than indicated by the massive figures just noted. The advent of legal sport gambling is a develop- ment likely to increase the overall size and impact of the U.S. sport industry in coming decades. According to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (Asher, 2012), more than 99 percent of the estimated $380 billion wagered on sport in the United States in 2012 involved bets that were placed illegally. The prevalence of illegal and off- shore sport gambling was largely because wagers on sport games could only legally be placed in Nevada. However, the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, thus opening the door for all U.S. states to potentially enact their own regulated systems for legal sport gambling. Within one year of that ruling, seven states had legalized sport gambling, and most states are expected to have a legal, regulated, and taxed system in place for sport gambling by 2024 (Purdum, 2019). With such complications in mind, Plunkett Research ("Sports Industry Overview," 2014, para. 2) surmised that "the sports industry is so complex, including ticket sales, licensed products, sports video games, collectibles, sporting goods, sports-related advertising, endorsement income, stadium naming fees and facilities income, that it's difficult to put an all-encompassing figure on annual revenue." It should not be surprising, then, that the sport industry offers ample job opportunities. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, career opportunities in sport are projected to increase by nearly 10 percent between 2016 and 2026 ("Entertainment and Sports Occupations," 2019). To meet this demand, the industry will need qualified professionals, which translates to opportunities for students who hold a degree from a good sport communication or sport manage- ment program. TELEVISION CONTRACTS AND GROWTH IN SPORT FRANCHISE VALUES Sport communication is a major reason for the rapid growth of the sport industry, as evidenced by the huge media rights contracts that reflect the popularity and value of the Olympic games, the most popular professional team-sport leagues, and revenue-producing intercollegiate sports. Since the advent of the World Wide Web in the late 20th century and the social media revolution of the early 21st century, sport media content has become available to consumers at all times through a variety of platforms. In the United States, for example, sport fans can stream live video of a lower-level sporting event halfway across the world; choose from dozens of all-sport stations available through high-definition television and streaming packages; listen to sports-talk programs and play-by- play sport coverage from across the country by means of satellite and Internet radio; read about any major sport or team anytime through traditional media (e.g., newspaper, magazine) or online sources; follow and occasionally interact with favorite athletes and teams, beat reporters, and other fans through social media; and do all of this while playing sport video games and receiving notifications of when to change fantasy-sport team lineups via their smart- phones. Despite this impressive array of changes, how- ever, the growth in sport coverage is best indi- cated by the dramatic growth in sport television contracts, which have largely fueled the growth of the professional and major-college sport industries in the United States. Indeed, the highest levels of revenue-producing sport now command mind- boggling media rights fees. Nothing better exem- plifies the popularity and financial magnitude. of sport in the United States than the National Football League (NFL), which collected more than $8 billion in 2018 from CBS, DirecTV, ESPN, Fox, and NBC through new and ongoing televi- sion contracts (Badenhausen, 2018; Travis, 2017). The NFL's latest deal with DirecTV for its Sunday Ticket package, announced in 2014, was worth 50 percent more (rising to $1.5 billion annually) than the previous deal negotiated just five years earlier (Katowitz, 2014). Indeed, in a time of declining ratings for most television programs amid the vast array of media consumption choices, NFL ratings keep rising annually when compared with all other television programming. Through mid-2019, Super Bowls accounted for 26 of the 27 most-watched telecasts in U.S. history. Further, NFL games accounted for 7 of the 8 most-watched television broadcasts, and live sporting events accounted for 89 of the 100 most-watched television shows, in the United States in 2018 (Crupi, 2019). Accordingly, the net values of NFL franchises (as well as other major sport teams) have risen considerably in recent years. In 2018, Forbes (Badenhausen, 2018) considered the Dallas Cow- boys to be the most valuable sport franchise with an estimated worth of $4.8 billion, which marked a 50 percent increase in the Cowboys' overall 22 Strategic Sport Communication Whether pursuing an undergraduate, mas- ter's, or doctoral degree, all sport management students are expected to finish with a strong background in sport communication. All the sport communication content areas that have been presented here are relevant to any position at any level of the sport industry. Therefore, any academic preparation in sport communication- whether one course or an entire major-will provide you with useful education, background, skill development, confidence, and networking opportunities. Regardless of the specific sport communication career you decide to pursue (see chapter 2 for more on career options), a good education in the field makes you more attractive to potential employers.