A Gender Analysis of NBC’s Coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics

This study examines National Broadcasting Company (NBC)’s U.S. broadcast coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games for gender equality and compares that coverage to previous years. Olympics coverage is particularly important to female athletes because many receive little media attention beyond Olympic competition. The study found that, while female participation in the Olympics has increased, NBC’s coverage of women’s events has not, and 97% of airtime devoted to women’s events was confined to six “socially acceptable” sports.