In February of next year, UNESCO will celebrate the power of sports broadcasting as the theme for their next World Radio Day and for the community radio sector, this couldn’t be more relevant.
The market for sports broadcasting has been well and truly cornered by commercial broadcasters and the BBC. From Wimbledon to Wembley, sports fans are treated to an ever more immersive experience. Even radio hasn’t been immune to the growth of 24 hour sports broadcasting, with TalkSport casting a long shadow over the sector, not only covering but increasingly breaking, the major sporting stories of the day.
So when UNESCO looks to highlight the power of sports broadcasting, does it find the stable door swinging in the wind with a horse that has long since bolted? Not a bit of it!
Community broadcasters in the UK should rejoice! For a great injustice is about to be undone. The multi-billion, multi-channel, multi-media, world of the professional sports broadcaster couldn’t be further from what UNESCO intend to showcase.
When it comes to celebrating diversity, gender equality, peace and promoting access to information, who’s at the front of the queue? From boxercise to yoga, cycling Sundays to walking football, the community sector has been championing the opportunities that exist for everyone, not just the privileged few, not just the elite.
I don’t mean to denigrate the contribution professional broadcasters have made to showcasing the beauty of sport. I have had the privilege of shadowing a professional commentator at BBC Bristol, an experience that left me realising just how much I had to learn. Or should I say, juts how much the best in the business have to teach the rest of us. Brining this back to UNESCO, what a wonderful opportunity World Radio Day represents for those professionals who have so much knowledge to share with those well-meaning armatures who have so much to learn!
My time on community radio was spent with Somer Valley FM, showcasing local sports clubs for the benefit of the local community. Clubs that were rarely, if ever, fortunate to be covered by the established media, yet who’s history, achievements, and ethos made their members and supporters as proud of them, as any supporter of any Premier League football team in the country.
I used our connections with the Clubs, to build an audience for the show and the radio station. Our commentaries and outside broadcasts were designed to take this engagement to another level. But there is no point building an audience if you can’t keep it and ultimately grow it. That should be the true measure of success for any broadcaster. Community radio is no different and whilst I may have hit upon a formula that worked in the short term, longer term success can only be achieved through improving the quality of production and the diversity of content. In short, never taking the listener for granted.
Today, I podcast for the Western Football League, a facility the leagues fans, players and managers, appear to very much enjoy. I’ve used my community radio background to share our content with radio stations around the Western League area. I’d love to say I do this out of the kindness of my own heart, but I do it to raise the profile of the podcast, the league and our member clubs. If I can engage a community station with their local football club, then I might have encouraged a few more supporters through the gate and put a few extra pounds in the till.
In my experience, grassroots Clubs, whatever the sport, aren’t in it for the money, indeed many struggle to break even, even on a matchday. The reality is that they are community hubs, running women’s teams, teams for people with a disability and countless teams for children and young people. All organised by volunteers and these are the people we should celebrate.
So whether its yoga, football, cricket, boxing or rugby, World Radio Day provides a wonderful opportunity for community radio to celebrate “its” people, the unsung heroes in every town, village and city who make a difference, every day of the week. These are the people that give, not for the image rights, appearance fees or win bonuses, but because they want to make a difference. Broadcasting can make a difference to their efforts, so why not celebrate the work they are doing, publicise the opportunities to get involved and educate the listeners about the physical and psychological benefits that come from participating, or even volunteering, in organised sport.
For more information on World Radio Day visit https://en.unesco.org/events/world-radio-day-2017
The market for sports broadcasting has been well and truly cornered by commercial broadcasters and the BBC. From Wimbledon to Wembley, sports fans are treated to an ever more immersive experience. Even radio hasn’t been immune to the growth of 24 hour sports broadcasting, with TalkSport casting a long shadow over the sector, not only covering but increasingly breaking, the major sporting stories of the day.
So when UNESCO looks to highlight the power of sports broadcasting, does it find the stable door swinging in the wind with a horse that has long since bolted? Not a bit of it!
Community broadcasters in the UK should rejoice! For a great injustice is about to be undone. The multi-billion, multi-channel, multi-media, world of the professional sports broadcaster couldn’t be further from what UNESCO intend to showcase.
When it comes to celebrating diversity, gender equality, peace and promoting access to information, who’s at the front of the queue? From boxercise to yoga, cycling Sundays to walking football, the community sector has been championing the opportunities that exist for everyone, not just the privileged few, not just the elite.
I don’t mean to denigrate the contribution professional broadcasters have made to showcasing the beauty of sport. I have had the privilege of shadowing a professional commentator at BBC Bristol, an experience that left me realising just how much I had to learn. Or should I say, juts how much the best in the business have to teach the rest of us. Brining this back to UNESCO, what a wonderful opportunity World Radio Day represents for those professionals who have so much knowledge to share with those well-meaning armatures who have so much to learn!
My time on community radio was spent with Somer Valley FM, showcasing local sports clubs for the benefit of the local community. Clubs that were rarely, if ever, fortunate to be covered by the established media, yet who’s history, achievements, and ethos made their members and supporters as proud of them, as any supporter of any Premier League football team in the country.
I used our connections with the Clubs, to build an audience for the show and the radio station. Our commentaries and outside broadcasts were designed to take this engagement to another level. But there is no point building an audience if you can’t keep it and ultimately grow it. That should be the true measure of success for any broadcaster. Community radio is no different and whilst I may have hit upon a formula that worked in the short term, longer term success can only be achieved through improving the quality of production and the diversity of content. In short, never taking the listener for granted.
Today, I podcast for the Western Football League, a facility the leagues fans, players and managers, appear to very much enjoy. I’ve used my community radio background to share our content with radio stations around the Western League area. I’d love to say I do this out of the kindness of my own heart, but I do it to raise the profile of the podcast, the league and our member clubs. If I can engage a community station with their local football club, then I might have encouraged a few more supporters through the gate and put a few extra pounds in the till.
In my experience, grassroots Clubs, whatever the sport, aren’t in it for the money, indeed many struggle to break even, even on a matchday. The reality is that they are community hubs, running women’s teams, teams for people with a disability and countless teams for children and young people. All organised by volunteers and these are the people we should celebrate.
So whether its yoga, football, cricket, boxing or rugby, World Radio Day provides a wonderful opportunity for community radio to celebrate “its” people, the unsung heroes in every town, village and city who make a difference, every day of the week. These are the people that give, not for the image rights, appearance fees or win bonuses, but because they want to make a difference. Broadcasting can make a difference to their efforts, so why not celebrate the work they are doing, publicise the opportunities to get involved and educate the listeners about the physical and psychological benefits that come from participating, or even volunteering, in organised sport.
For more information on World Radio Day visit https://en.unesco.org/events/world-radio-day-2017
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