| Media tends to reaffirm male hegemony in sport, that is, only the experiences of men are valued. Previous studies have suggested that female athletes have been marginalized by media coverage. To investigate this premise, this study examined Olympic television coverage given to female events by the English Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) who had the exclusive television rights for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games.;This study undertook a content analysis of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games coverage by English CBC television with a particular focus on the amount of coverage devoted to female events. The study was descriptive in nature and its scope was to examine the amount of time allotted to female athletes by television. Time was further examined in terms of prime time broadcasts versus overall broadcast time. The analysis included Olympic events, interviews, "Olympians" profiles, and medal ceremonies.;The decision of CBC to broadcast one sport over another was not only influenced by sport viewership trends, but was also dependant on the 1998 Winter Olympic events schedule. This schedule was comprised of 39% female, 58% male, and 3% mixed female/male competitions. With the exception of mixed gender figure skating, CBC provided equitable coverage as evidenced by the findings which revealed that CBC Olympic television coverage consisted of: 36% female, 55% male, and 9% mixed gender competitions. Coverage of female competition accurately reflected the Olympic events schedule. The apparently disproportionate coverage given to male Olympic events is not based on decisions made by CBC. That is, the shortcomings in coverage of female athletes does not lie within CBC's approach but rather may be founded on the antiquated ideology still permeating the International Olympic Committee (IOC). |
