Media analysis - BT Sport example

Media Language
The first key convention that tells the audience this is an advert is the BT Sport logo in the bottom right-hand corner. The slogan below – ‘Great sport happens here’ – also tells the audience what the channel is concerned with and tries to convince them that the best sport is on BT rather than rival Sky Sports. The key images on the advert are of extremely famous footballers Gareth Bale, Robin  van Persie and Joe Hart. These superstars of the Premier League are specifically chosen to suggest to the audience that the big matches will be on BT Sport rather than Sky. Van Persie and Hart are both in mid-air to create the idea that BT catches the action – the most dramatic moments of the Premiere League season. The lay-out of the advert with van Persie and Hart both in mid-air gives the advert a perfect balance, with the images symmetrical and appearing to mirror one another.

Institution
The major institution behind this advert is BT Sport, a multimedia company that set up sports channels to rival Sky Sports. The words ‘Game changing’ suggest the fact a rival company is getting involved in the pay-TV sport market and challenging Sky’s dominance in televising the Premier League. 

Audience
The target audience for this advert is primarily football fans. BT will also be targeting current Sky Sports subscribers by suggesting the big action will be on BT Sport in the coming season. The gender breakdown could be as much as 75% male and 25% female. The age range would be wide but perhaps mostly concentrated in the 25-45 age bracket. Due to BT Sport being a paid subscription channel, the advert will be aimed at largely middle-class and wealthy people, perhaps in professional jobs or supervisory or management roles.

Representation
The representation on this advert is exclusively white and male – which perhaps gives us a clue regarding the target audience.  This is slightly surprising because the Premier League contains a huge number of outstanding black players and you might expect one of them to be featured on an advert such as this. Although it is not surprising that an advert for Premier League football (a male league) is dominated by male players, it does serve to highlight the important media debate regarding the lack of representation for women's sport. There is very little TV coverage of women's sport outside of the Olympics and this advert only serves to emphasise that the vast majority of money and coverage is concentrated on male athletes.