A textual analysis of sports on television focusses on the semiotic codes these broadcasts are composed of. The sports broadcast is then considered to be an autonomous, textual reality which differs from the sports event in structure and function. An investigation of three popular television sports (football, tennis, cycle racing) demonstrates which textual television codes are being articulated. This analysis makes clear that sports on television serves three fundamental, textual functions: providing a fascinating illusion of reality, supplying surplus information and dynamizing the original sports event into an entertainment spectacle. By deploying these textual strategies, sports broadcasts on television have developed a "vraisemblance" which has gradually detached itself from the original sports event.
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