by Jesse R. Burkhart 

John Sweeney is a distinguished professor and the founder of the Sports Communication Program in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In the January-February 2007 issue of The Futurist, Sweeney wrote an article called, “10 Controversial Issues Confronting the Sports Industry.” Among them, he examines the attempts of sports franchises to brand themselves effectively, the marketability of women’s sports, and the surfacing of various niche sports. Reporter Jesse R. Burkhart sat down and talked with Sweeney to find out more.

Jesse R. Burkhart: You mentioned that the NFL is currently doing the best job of popularizing itself as a brand. In your opinion, do you see any organization dethroning the NFL from its pedestal in the future?

Professor John Sweeney: No. NASCAR is very tight, but I don’t think NASCAR builds roots at the level of the NFL. [The NFL] gets an average of about 10 million households per game. NASCAR is second with about five and a half million households. Now, understand these are approximate, but basically the scale of the NFL as a television sport is way bigger than anybody. It’s really that simple.

Burkhart: What is essential for women’s sports to become commercial media products, like popular men’s sports are?

Sweeney: Most men’s sports are non-commercial, so you have to understand that as a context. So the few that [are commercial] have built a passionate following that makes an appointment with [people], they follow it. For example, I like women’s basketball, but I only have so many hours in the day, so the question is: How much time do I have after men’s basketball? Then, what’s second? … So what you’ve got with these media products is that they are reaching out trying to find audiences, and it gets complicated. Asking me, a male, to watch women’s sports, when I’m already hooked on men’s sports, is a tough proposition.… [But] if you look at the total numbers for women’s college athletics, it’s got some very optimistic trend lines. I am hopeful that the right ingredients will be put together for a major commercial media sport for women. I watch women’s sports. I enjoy women’s sports, but the building of a franchise is not men’s sports versus women’s sports, it’s just that the few commercial media franchises are currently in men’s sports. If you are not able to create a dynamic where women watch women on TV, you don’t have a media franchise. It’s a problem that no one has unlocked, and I’m hopeful that someone will unlock it.

Burkhart: With obesity in children on the rise, do you see competitive levels of sports in America decreasing?

Sweeney: No, actually the opposite. The question is: What responsibility do we have for the average kid? There is less phys-ed than ever before and more urbanization. Varsity athletes are doing well - they are scaring everyone else away. The elite athletes are doing just fine.

Burkhart: With sports being more accessible via the Internet, is any American sport threatened by its international counterpart?

Sweeney: The American models have the money, outside of soccer. I don’t see a global league because of time and distance.

Burkhart: We’ve seen the rise in popularity of poker and other niche sports. What is the next niche sport that we might see on ESPN?

Sweeney: The Ultimate Fighting stuff is taking off. And what makes Ultimate Fighting different from just a freak-show is that they put together a whole series of rules and regulations like a sport. It’s probably the next thing. Bull riding is the fastest growing sponsor-driven [sport]. They’ve put together their own thing and have done remarkably well. ♦

Jesse R. Burkhart is a senior in the school’s public relations sequence.