Italy: Cycling

 

Italians have been scaling their beautiful terrain by way of cycling for centuries. Bikes are a fairly common source of transportation, athletic activity and simple enjoyment in this country's culture. It didn't start to get competitive until the media and advertisements got involved and pushed the envelope. 


Giro d'Italia
Their are four major race that professional cyclists circle on their calendar every year. One is the well-known Tour de France, the second is the Tour Du Pont held right here in America, the third is the Tour of Switzerland and the fourth is the Giro d'Italia.


The great Giro d'Italia race spans across 22 days and encompasses 3.476,4 km. The 2012 presentation of the course was just released a few weeks ago. 

Giro route 2012

On May 5, 2012, cyclists will begin this trek in Herning, Denmark; this is the first time the Giro d'Italia has ventured into Scandinavian territory. After the three-day stint in Denmark, a one-day break will be allotted to allow travel back to Italy. Once the contestants reach Verona, Italy, they will travel on a 12-day voyage across various lengths through various types of courses and levels of terrain. The race will conclude on May 27 in Milan where the winner will be honored in front of the race's home (Giro d'Italia).




Media as event management?

La Gazzetta dello Sport

A popular Italian sports magazine, "La Gazzetta dello Sport", wanted to cover cycling in Italy. So they produced and promoted the first major cycling tour in the country, which kicked off on May 13, 1909. The first race contained 127 cyclists racing 8 stages of 2448 km. Luigi Ganna was deemed the first winner of the Giro d'Italia and took home the jackpot of 5.325 lire (Giro d'Italia).

Giro d'Italia logo

The tournament grew in the years between World War I and World War II. It was in this time that video was introduced. Crowds would gather at the beginning and end of the races where cameras would capture the spectacle. 1953 marked the first year the broadcast was used to accompany the the video footage (Giro d'Italia). 


After people were able to see the film and the winners, pink was designated as the winner's color and is used in their logo. 


This video clip is a backstage look at a photo shoot for a Giro d'Italia ad campaign. Notice the branding on the uniform and the use of the color pink. 

Giro d'Italia reaching new numbers

Rai and RCS Sport team have launched the premiere Italian event into new international viewing numbers this past year . 

2011:

-Audience reached over 800 million viewers in 168 countries covering five continents

          -10% increase from the previous year

-RaiSport networks held coverage in Italy a total of 184 live hours of content

-Increase in internet traffic

          -Sites devoted to the race averaged 24,963 unique users and a total of 2,083,082 viewers (Auditel)

2012:

-Will broadcast the race in over 160 different countries

-Aims to reach 300 million viewers at each of the 21 stages (Auditel)

New Media

The Giro d'Italia is joining the popular web trend and getting involved with social media sites, most notably Facebook and Twitter (Auditel)

Click here to be directed to the Giro d'Italia Facebook page

A third aspect of the web that the Giro d'Italia is getting involved with is blogging.  As I advise you all to click on the link, I must warn you that you will only understand it if you speak Italian. 

Longhorn Network
This example of the Italian media creating a big-time sporting event was a foreshadowing of the direction sport has travelled.
College football was created and the NCAA decided to break the teams up into many conferences and designed the bowl system. This method is not favorable to the media who wishes to see super conferences and a playoffs. This year, the Longhorn Network was launched as the first 24/7 network devoted solely to one university. It was created as a new avenue for the media in a time where varying sports content makes networks king. 

This network has upended college football during the 2011-12 season. Universities are livid at the additional money and coverage the University of Texas is receiving (more jealous they don't have the resources to do it). This change in media broadcast led to a conference realignment frenzy. With the Big East on the verge of collapse, it seems that super conferences and a playoff system are not that far on the horizon.


Had we taken a note from the Italians and developed a league in favor of the media, we would have not  endured this much change and uncertainty in college football. Our linked in and technologically advanced society has given media the upper hand in how sports are played and governed. It's ironic how all of these useful lessons are always evidenced in history. 

References

(2011, May 5). 95th Grio d’Italia. Giro d’Italia. Retrieved from http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2012/it/percorso.shtml?lang=en

Auditel GroupM (2011, October 11). The Giro d’Italia and RAI at Sportel: global audience to new record. Giro d’Italia. Retrieved from http://www.gazzetta.it/Giroditalia/2011/10-2011-Comunicati/the-giro-d-italia-and-rai-at-sportel-global-audience-to-new-record-803242876164.shtml