About the course: This senior-level class examines sports markets from media and business perspectives. From fantasy sports to corporate sponsorships of teams and events, students study the interplay between enterprise and athletics, including public efforts to regulate and fund international sports competition. At the course’s conclusion, students examine the future of sports media and think through the roles aspiring media professionals might play, whether via traditional channels such as television or in digital roles.

Instructor: Charles LaMendola, assistant professor of professional practice in Film, Television and Digital Media

Class time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30 to 1:50 p.m.

Class size: 20 students, must be sports broadcasting majors

Texts: ESPN the Company: The Story and Lessons Behind the Most Fanatical Brand in Sports by Anthony F. Smith and Keith Holliman (Wiley, 2009)
Semester-long subscription to SportsBusiness Daily
Subscription to the Sports Video Group’s newsletter

Classwork: Students research a different topic each week and compose a summary of related readings. Topics include market saturation of sports media, broadcast rights fees, stadium financing, the college sports landscape, sports video games and cord-cutting’s effect on the industry.
Working with partners, students present a comprehensive look at a specific sports issue to their classmates.
One midterm exam and one final, mostly consisting of written answers to prompts.

— Compiled by Caroline Collier