The sounds of televised sports

The sounds of televised sports are widely acknowledged to play a pivotal role for the television audiences’ experience. However, the almost routine recognition that the sounds of televised sports are important has normally not been followed by systematic examination of why and how they might be important. Based on these premises, this chapter firstly presents an overview of various types of sounds in televised sports. Secondly, the chapter offers insights into how the sounds from the sports venue are transformed in the televised broadcast by processes of restructuration and supplementation. Thirdly, with a focus on the case of the sounds of spectators in televised football, the chapter illustrates the sounds’ significance from the perspective of the communicative functions they serve during the broadcast.