Gendered Sports Programming: 1992 Summer Olympic Coverage and the Feminine Narrative Form

Approached from a feminist perspective, this article draws from genre criticism which argues that gender can be inscribed in television programming. Specifically, it examines how NBC adopted characteristics of feminine narrative form in its coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. I examine NBC’s use of rhetorical constructions, such as pretaped video profiles and personal interviews, to represent the Olympic Games and suggest that parallels exist between soap operas and Olympic programming, thereby attracting a female-inclusive audience.