Can Athletics Coverage Finally Get Up To Speed?
This week, news broke that the BBC could lose TV rights to the London Marathon as of next year when their contract expires. This would be the first time in the events 40 year history.
Event Director, Hugh Brasher, revealed that they were in talks with other terrestrial broadcasters to see what they could bring to the table.
“This is one of the crown jewels of British sport. That’s the FA Cup, there’s the Grand National, the Boat Race, Wimbledon tennis, and the London Marathon. All the other events have been around for over 150 years but the London Marathon is 40 years.
It’s incredible what we’ve become in that time, and we do not take that in any way lightly. It is fair to say we are talking to other terrestrial broadcasters. It is likely an announcement will be made this year.”
With this, is it time running/athletics had a TV overhaul? I’ve taken it upon myself to suggest some ways current coverage can get up to speed with the likes of F1 and the Premier League.
1. Data Visualisation
Yes this may be a controversial suggestion, particularly to those who like the purity of running, but data has become a crucial and much loved part of the sport. More people train based on their heart-rate, there are bands designed to assess the 23 hours in the day that you’re not running, looking at things like recovery and strain, not to mention the advancements in smart watches.
At the start of the year, WHOOP became the official wearable partner of the PGA TOUR and has exhibited how the data that the band receives can elevate coverage for viewers. The biometric data and heart rate metrics for select players wearing the straps has been integrated into video highlights through what’s being called the WHOOP Live for Charity initiative. In short, this showed when a player was feeling the heat during a crucial shot.
While marathoners are less likely to feel under pressure once they get going, this level of biometric data can showcase the ease at which various athletes are running and at the very least, wow us mere mortals with their impressive stats.
2. Behind the scenes
Athletics is not the only sport to have suffered by falling a little behind the big money sports. One of the most impressive sport rebrands I’ve seen is Formula 1. For a brief period between Michael Schumacher’s reign and peak Lewis Hamilton, the sport went a little stale. But thanks to a design overhaul by Wieden + Kennedy and more access to the teams, it’s now more popular than ever.
Drive to Survive has arguably done more for the sport than anything else. If you haven’t seen it, watch it. (That’s coming from somebody previously uninterested by F1). It details the preparations and goings on of each team ahead of raceday with unprecedented access. Every driver and team is on board, giving us authentic and previously unseen aspects of the sport.
Imagine this kind of access throughout the athletics season. Where a camera crew follows a particular athlete for one leg of the Diamond League or for a major marathon, documenting their training, their media obligations and their sponsor activities. This would not only give us more gripping content but would close the gap between everyday runners and the elite programme.
3. Have fun on social media
Yes professional sports needs to be taken seriously, but if you convey a message of training hard, performing hard and only highlighting the relentlessness of being an elite athlete, people will be turned off. The key is to mix it up. Social platforms such as TikTok and YouTube are perfect places to have a little bit of fun, playing with the amazing personalities already in the sport. World Athletics is beginning to do this really well with their sound-on platforms but I still believe we could see more of the people making the sport so great, rather than remixing highlights (which still has its place btw.) Think Elaine Thompson-Herah, Joshua Cheptegei or Ryan Crowser.
It’s worth pointing out, BBC have not done a bad job with their coverage of the marathon in previous years. Athletics in general could do with a little injection (bad analogy I know!) to give it the audience it deserves. The sport boasts huge characters, incredible teams and enough ups and downs to truly engage spectators. Athletics should take this as an opportunity to evolve and innovate.
