Sport is an integral part of the lives of millions of people all over the world because it can provide you with entertainment, a sense of belonging, and even an escape from real-world problems.
Many sporting events have occurred over the years that have either made us question our love of the game or brought us closer to it, ranging from the highs of a national team uniting a country to the lows of racism, doping and cheating scandals.
But which sport receives the most positive coverage?
Interested in this, Livefootballtickets.com wanted to find out which sport has had the most positive [and negative] press coverage over the last 9 years. This was done by conducting a sentiment analysis of over 45,000 Sky Sports articles between 2013 and 2022 to uncover the most positively received sport.
Percentage of positive and negative press coverage received per sport:
|
Rank |
Sport |
Positive % |
Negative % |
|
1 |
Golf |
79.18% |
20.82% |
|
2 |
Rugby League |
77.04% |
22.96% |
|
3 |
Football |
71.05% |
28.95% |
|
4 |
Rugby Union |
66.62% |
33.38% |
|
5 |
Cricket |
65.69% |
34.31% |
|
6 |
F1 |
65.56% |
34.44% |
|
7 |
NFL |
64.54% |
35.46% |
|
8 |
Tennis |
63.38% |
36.62% |
|
9 |
Boxing |
54.67% |
45.33% |
Please find the data sheet attached via this OneDrive link.
Golf receives the most positive coverage across all sports
Coming in top spot for the most positive sport is golf with 79.18% of news coverage being positive. Due to being a slow-paced sport, lacking any huge controversy, any negativity in the sport comes from the people associated with the game.
“The large amount of positive press coverage surrounding golf, radiates positivity out into the wider culture and atmosphere around the sport. This has been seen by the great camaraderie and support shown between players, for example after Tiger Woods was seriously injured in his car crash in 2021 other golfers wore his signature red and black in support and tribute to him. This positivity makes the game a great sport to play and watch and we ultimately believe that it lifts how fans feel.” – Jamie Boler, golfsupport.com
“One of the main attributes golf brings into media attention is the focus on prestige and presentability, and this is encapsulated in the coverage and display shown across the flagship competitions. The image is drawn towards the exquisite presentation of the courses and the emotional camaraderie of fans and players alike, illustrating a clean, welcoming perspective that draws positive media coverage.”
“Within its key components, golf highlights the benefits of biophilia and low-impact exercise, while also generally providing low levels of direct competition as scoring is predominantly focused on a comparison with par, rather than one another and the direct competition, challenge and controversy that those aspects can bring.” – Christian Ward-Pszyk (Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist [BPS and HCPC registered])
Rugby league ranks second
In second place is rugby league with 77.04% of news coverage being positive, which is 10.42% more positive than its close rival rugby union in fourth place. Rugby league is often seen as being the less physical of the two and therefore reflects less aggression and potentially more positivity into the media.
“Rugby league has been perceived to be a positive influence on individuals involved due to its structure and approach to talent development and academy processing. This has helped to represent rugby league as a positive factor in the youth sector, and has been largely able to transfer these skills and the underlying ethos into the professional and amateur ranks.”
“This, supplemented by the positive influence of individual news stories, such as the Sinfield and Burrow MND fundraising campaign, has helped to establish a positive reflection of the sport in recent years.” – Ward-Pszyk
Football places third
Finding itself in third place is football with 71.05% of news coverage being positive.
“With the largest established fanbase and according to media coverage, football has arguably the greatest level of exposure and following amongst these sports. However, it can be estimated that the overall positive reporting was due to a set of factors, consisting of commercial support, perceived social engagement of players and clubs and the frequent coverage of national unity created through the international men’s and women’s teams at international tournaments.” – Ward-Pszyk
Boxing is the most negatively reported sport
In last place, and the least positive sport, is boxing with 54.67% of news coverage being positive. This is due to the aggressive and tense nature of the sport, which is therefore reflected in headlines.
“As the only combat sport explored in this study, this is a definite influencing factor on public media perception, as combat sports, specifically those that draw on the physical knock out, draw attention to physical pain and overpowering as well as the physical and mental consequences thereof. This clearly reflects the challenge that boxing faces, and the combination of physical force, perceived toxic masculinity and common controversy have only reinforced that perception.” – Ward-Pszyk
