Sports Media, Broadcasting and Communications

Provide an overview of the sports media landscape, its evolution, and its intersection with business. Introduce key concepts like media ecosystems, stakeholder roles, and the economic value of communications in sports. Infuse pan-African perspectives by highlighting how media has shaped sports narratives across the continent, while drawing global parallels.

Explore the business of media rights, negotiation strategies, and broadcasting models. Emphasize how these drive revenue in African sports while learning from global best practices to address challenges like piracy and accessibility.

Dive into digital tools for sports communications, focusing on social platforms’ role in building communities. Highlight Africa’s digital leapfrog (e.g., mobile-first engagement) with global innovations like AR/VR.

Teach PR fundamentals in sports, including athlete branding and handling scandals. Use African examples of resilience (e.g., post-colonial sports narratives) alongside global crises like doping scandals.

Examine the art of sports storytelling through journalism, with a focus on ethics, diversity, and inclusivity. Draw from Africa’s rich oral traditions and media diversity, contrasted with global standards.

Forecast emerging trends in sports media, such as AI, metaverse, and sustainability communications. Tie in Africa’s innovation hubs (e.g., tech in Kenya’s Silicon Savannah) with global advancements. Prepare students for capstone.

Students will develop a comprehensive media and communications strategy for a real or hypothetical pan-African sports entity (e.g., a continental league, event like the African Games, or athlete collective). 

The project must incorporate elements from all weeks, blending business acumen with creative storytelling, and include global benchmarks while emphasizing African contexts (e.g., mobile accessibility in sub-Saharan regions, cultural narratives from diverse countries like Algeria, Angola, and Tanzania).