Stepping Stones: University of Chichester students Liv Coomber and Tally Corben give their take on breaking into the sports broadcast industry

Students at the University of Chichester, Liv Coomber and Tally Corben, are both studying on the BA (Hons) Sports Media course. The university boasts amazing facilities, including this huge VR studio

Students at the University of Chichester, Liv Coomber and Tally Corben, are both studying on the BA (Hons) Sports Media course under the guidance of Roberto Gómez Martín, senior lecturer in the Department of Creative Industries.

They are the only women in their year on the course, and they are highly motivated to move into the sports broadcasting industry when they graduate; they attended the SVG Europe Audio Sports Audio Summit 2024 last November, where they learned and made new contacts.

Coomber and Corben took part in a Stepping Stones interview with SVG Europe Women to give their insights into being at this early stage of their future careers.

Liv Coomber and Tally Corben, students at the University of Chichester

What is your course about and why did you each choose it?

Liv Coomber: We both chose this course due to the in-depth detail and knowledge we will gain about media within the sport industry, as well as the ideas of understanding and exploring different varieties of sport from just the standard football and rugby. Another bonus is both of us have an interest in the sporting world via entertainment and job offers.

And how has year one gone? What have you enjoyed the most, and what have you found the most challenging?

LC: Year one has gone very quick for us both with challenges along the way via assignments and in group work that has pushed us to gain more knowledge about the media world.

I have enjoyed finding out new areas of sporting jobs such as production and editing but the hardest part would be all the analysis for assignments with finding research and gaining new ideas to use. In particular, I enjoyed learning and hearing from other people that work in the industry to see the different pathways you can take to achieve your goal.

Tally Corben: I have enjoyed being able to get hands-on experience and learning from people who have worked in the sport media industry. This year, I have particularly enjoyed the modules where we get to film and edit our own short documentaries; we get to use industry-standard kit and develop our skills in small groups which I think is really useful for learning.

Why do you want to work in sports broadcasting? What first led you to the idea?

LC: I always wanted to work in sport broadcasting due to wanting to make a difference with introducing more women into male dominated sports especially football, rugby and F1, as well as I find live streaming and interview very interesting as it is fast paced and quick thinking needed.

TC: I would be interested in working in sports broadcasting as I enjoy watching live sports and have always found the behind the scenes of the production interesting.

Roberto Gómez Martín, senior lecturer in the Department of Creative Industries, University of Chichester

At this point, what sort of job in sports broadcasting would you like to do eventually, and why?

LC: I would like to get into reporting such as commentary, match writing and interviewing athletes with a side of production because as I said before we need more female to be present in the dominated areas of the industry and majority of my role models are within that area.

TC: I would be particularly interested in working with graphics as I enjoy creative work and making things digitally. Similarly to Liv, I think that sports media is an industry that needs more females in it, particularly sports broadcasting. Personally, I feel as though you don’t see enough women when you see the behind the scenes of live sporting events, which I would like to play a role in changing.

How do you think you’ll get that job?

LC: We both believe that this degree will boost our knowledge which can help for finding our goals in the industry, as well as using contacts we have gained or will gain within the next three years via our lecturers, Rob [Gómez Martín] and Ian [Worden, programme coordinator for the university’s Sports Media degree]. We also both believe that helping each other and staying in contact that we can boost the other’s goals by pushing them to their best and showing them the areas that may need to be improved.

Have either of you worked in sport or sports broadcasting so far? If so, what?

TC: I haven’t as of yet but am hoping to find a few experiences before my three years are up at Chichester.

LC: I have done multiple work experience such as a week at More Radio to understand live streaming and the background information need to go into radio broadcasting and currently help a rugby foundation – Matt Ratana Rugby Foundation – with their social media, photography and match previews and reports. I also work at Goodwood for the ticket office to help boost event tickets and promotions, but Goodwood has areas that I can branch off into for later ideas and experience.

Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time? What are your overall career goals?

LC: In 10 years’ time, we would both like to be two of many women within the sports media industry. For us, success looks like not only a good, solid career in something we enjoy, but also being able to work in a level playing field environment alongside our male colleagues. Our overall career goals would be being able to work a job that we truly enjoy and look forward to doing every day.

One of the studios at the university of Chichester

Can you give us some top tips for other students that might be thinking of working in sports broadcast?

LC: Definitely ask questions and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and ask make connections. We have met several people who work within the sports media industry during our first year and this is the advice they have all given us.

Do you perceive any barriers to getting a job in the broadcast industry at this point?

TC: Being females! However, after speaking to women within the industry at a recent SVG Europe Audio event, we are hopeful that the industry is slowly becoming more equal and look forward to contributing to that one day.