Surpassing the Media Event: The FA Cup 4th Round in the UK

Abstract

This chapter uses Katz’s (1980) and Dayan and Katz’s (1992) broad definitions of the media event. Addressed will be how a combination of the broadcasters’ coverage and the results of the games surpassed all expectations of what happens when the unexpected catches the imagination of an already expectant public. Superficially, Saturday 24 January 2015 fitted Katz’s (1980) broad definition of the media event. For Katz (1980) there are three primary definers of a media event. The first is that the event is broadcast live, the second is that the organization of the event is not primarily directed by the media and, finally, the ‘event has a hero as individual, two individuals or a team’ (Katz, 1980, p. 2). The event was the 4th round of the English FA Cup, which began in 1871 and is regarded as the oldest domestic cup competition in the world (www.thefa.com). With the competition being organized by the Football Association and offered to broadcasters, the potential for the mass audience to engage with the 16 games being played was large. Indeed, the current rights holders to broadcast the FA Cup, BT Vision and the BBC, added to the sense of occasion by heavily advertising their coverage in the days and weeks leading up to the event. It was therefore highly probable that even the non-follower of football would have been aware of the games that were being played and would have been tempted to at least take note of the results.