The Network of the Olympics”: ABC Sports and the Industrial Uses of Technological Innovation During the Broadcast Era

• In Event: Global Sports Events as Platforms for Innovation

Abstract

ABC Sports launched in 1960 as the United States’ first network television sports division. ABC Sports distinguished its content—and, by extension, ABC—through developing a battery of technological innovations and by calling attention to those novelties in its programming. “The greatest contribution we can make,” asserted ABC Sports president Roone Arledge, “is getting people aware of production.” The Olympic Games became the premiere showcase ABC Sports used to build its identity as a cutting-edge sports media outlet—a status it emphasized by branding itself as “The Network of the Olympics.” This presentation will consider how ABC Sports crafted its industrial status by appealing to its technologically innovative Olympics coverage. It will also examine how ABC Sports’ coverage helped to establish the contemporary Olympic Games as not only an iconic sports event, but a platform where new sports media technologies are now routinely unveiled for a global audience.

Author

• Travis Vogan, U of Iowa