Unsafe and Violent Behavior in Commercials Aired During Televised Major Sporting Events.

Unsafe and Violent Behavior in Commercials Aired During Televised Major Sporting Events.

Tamburro Robert F; Gordon Patricia L; D'Apolito James P; Howard Scott C

Pediatrics

2004

2004-12

Objective. Injuries are the leading cause of death in children, and media exposure seems to increase children's risk-taking behavior. Televised sports are commonly viewed by children. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of commercials that depict violence or other unsafe behavior during major televised sporting events that are aired before 9:00 PM. Methods. We obtained a list of the 50 sports programs that were most highly rated by Nielsen Media Research and that were televised between September 1, 2001, and September 1, 2002. These 50 programs included Winter Olympics events (n = 15), National Football League (NFL) regular season games (n = 14), NFL playoff games (n = 10), Major League Baseball World Series and playoff games (n = 7), the NFL Super Bowl (n = 1), the National Basketball Association Western Conference Final Game (n = 1), the College Football Rose Bowl (n = 1), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Championship game (n = 1). Two other events were reviewed as well: the final round of the Masters Golf Championship, because it was the only sporting event rated in the top 50 of the previous year that was not represented by a similar sporting event in the study year, and the Daytona 500 National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing race, because it was the only event rated among the top 75 of the study year that was not represented by a similar event (ie, there were no other golfing or auto racing events reviewed). These events were included because different sporting events may attract different viewers and different advertisements; thus, their inclusion provides a more comprehensive evaluation of the topic. For sporting events with \textgreater3 programs in the top 50 (NFL regular season games, NFL playoff games, Winter Olympic events, and Major League Baseball World Series), representative samples of events were as-sessed. Surrogate events were analyzed for programs that were aired after 9:00 PM... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CHILD mortality; MASS media; RISK-taking behavior; SPORTS; ℡EVISION broadcasting of sports

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e694–e698

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