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Insports broadcasting, asports commentator (also known as asports announcer orsportscaster) provides areal-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in thepresent tense. Radio was the first medium for sports broadcasts, where the radio commentators had to describe the action in detail because the listeners could not see it for themselves. In the case of televised sports coverage, commentators are presented as avoiceover, with images of the contest shown on viewers' screens and sounds of the action and spectators heard in the background. Television commentators are rarely shown on screen during an event, though some networks choose to feature their announcers on camera either before or after the contest or briefly during breaks in the action.
Themain commentator, also called theplay-by-play commentator or announcer in North America,blow-by-blow in combat sports coverage,lap-by-lap for motorsports coverage, orball-by-ball for cricket coverage,[1] is the primary speaker and the moderator of the broadcast. Broadcasters in this role are adept at being articulate and carry an ability to describe each play or event of an often-fast-moving sporting event. The play-by-play announcer is meant to convey the event as it is carried out. Because of their skill level, commentators likeAl Michaels,Brian Anderson,Ian Eagle,Kevin Harlan,Jim Nantz, andJoe Buck in the US,David Coleman in the UK, andBruce McAvaney in Australia may have careers in which they call several different sports at one time or another. Other main commentators may, however, only call one sport (Joe Rogan for example announces only one sport which is mixed martial arts, specifically the UFC organization andPeter Drury for thePremier League Football Association). The vast majority of play-by-play announcers are male; female play-by-play announcers had not seen sustained employment until the 21st century.
Radio and television play-by-play techniques involve slightly different approaches; radio broadcasts typically require the play-by-play host to say more to verbally convey the on-field activity that cannot be seen by the radio audience. It is unusual to have radio and television broadcasts share the same play-by-play commentator for the same event, except in cases of low production budgets or when a broadcaster is particularly renowned (Rick Jeanneret's hockey telecasts, for example, were simulcast on radio and television from 1997 until his 2022 retirement).
Theanalyst or color commentator was the co-host and provides expert analysis and background information, such as statistics, strategy on the teams and athletes, and occasionally anecdotes or light humor. They are usually former athletes or coaches in their respective sports, although there are some exceptions.
The term "color" refers to levity and insight provided by the analyst. The most common format for a sports broadcast is to have an analyst/color commentator work alongside the main/play-by-play announcer.[2][3][4] An example isNBC Sunday Night Football in the United States, which is called by color commentatorCris Collinsworth, a former NFL receiver, and play-by-play commentatorMike Tirico, a professional announcer. In the United Kingdom, however, there is a much less distinct division between play-by-play and color commentary, although two-man commentary teams usually feature an enthusiast with formal journalistic training but little or no competitive experience leading the commentary, and an expert former (or current) competitor following up with analysis or summary. There are however exceptions to this—most of the United Kingdom's leadingcricket andsnooker commentators are former professionals in their sports, while the formerFormula One racing commentatorMurray Walker had no formal journalistic training and only limited racing experience of his own (he had come from an advertising background and his initial hiring was more of a comicdouble act than a traditional sports commentary pairing). In the United States,Pat Summerall, a former professional kicker, spent most of his broadcasting career as a play-by-play announcer. ComedianDennis Miller's short-lived run as part of theMonday Night Football booth in 2001 caused what Miller himself described as a "maelstrom" of perplexed reviews.[5]
Although the combination of a play-by-play announcer and color commentator is now considered the standard, it was much more common for a broadcast to have only one play-by-play announcer working alone.Vin Scully, longtime announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was one of the few examples of this practice lasting into the 21st century until he retired in 2016. The three-person booth is a format used onMonday Night Football, in which there are two color commentators, usually one being a former player or coach and the other being an outsider, such as a journalist (Howard Cosell was one long-running example) or a comedian (such as the before mentioned Dennis Miller).
Asideline reporter assists a sports broadcasting crew withsideline coverage of theplaying field or court. The sideline reporter typically makes live updates oninjuries and breaking news or conducts player interviews while players are on the field or court because the play-by-play broadcaster and color commentator must remain in their broadcast booth. Sideline reporters are often granted inside information about an important update, such as injury because they have the credentials necessary to do so. In cases of big events, teams consisting of many sideline reporters are placed strategically so that the main commentator has many sources to turn to (for example some sideline reporters could be stationed in the dressing room area while others could be between the respective team benches). In the United States, sideline reporters are heavily restricted by NFL rules; in contrast, both the2001 and2020 incarnations of the XFL featured sideline reporters in a much more prominent role.
In motorsports, it is typical for there to be multiplepit reporters, covering the event from along the pit road. Their responsibilities include covering breaking news trackside, probing crew chiefs and other team leaders about strategy, and commentating on pit stops from along the pit wall. On occasion in motorsport, the reporter on the sideline is an understudy to the lead commentator, asFox NASCAR has used this tactic numerous times based on the career of Cup lead Mike Joy, a former pit reporter. Those who made the switch included Steve Byrnes (Truck Series, 2014), Vince Welch (Truck Series since late 2015), andAdam Alexander (who did Cup for Fox-produced TNT broadcasts from 2010–14, Xfinity on Fox since 2015) did the same too.
In British sports broadcasting, thepresenter of a sports broadcast is usually distinct from the commentator, and often based in aremote broadcasttelevision studio away from the sports venue. In North America, the on-air personality based in the studio is called thestudio host. During their shows, the presenter/studio host may be joined by additional analysts or pundits, especially when showing highlights of various other matches (e.g. in 1985,Jim Nantz was the studio host forThe Prudential College Football Report in Studio 43 in New York forCBS Sports, and during his four-year tenure there [1985 through 1988 college football seasons], he hadPat Haden [in 1985] andAra Parseghian [in 1987 and 1988] as his co-hosts/pundits).
Various sports may have different commentator roles to cover situations unique to that sport. In the 2010s, as popularized by Fox,American football broadcasts began to increasingly employrules analysts to explainpenalties and controversial calls and analyzeinstant replay reviews to predict whether a call will or will not be overturned. This helps viewers who may not understand some of the rules or calls, understand further. These analysts are typically formerreferees.[6][7]
InNorth American English,sportscaster is a general term for any type of commentator in a sports broadcast. It may also refer to asports talk show host or anewscaster covering sports news.
Invideo games, and particularlyesports, commentators are often calledshoutcasters; this term is derived fromShoutcast, an internet audio streaming plugin and protocol associated with theWinamp media player.[8] They are also sometimes referred to as simplycasters.[9][10]
While sports broadcasts took place from 1912, Florent Gibson of thePittsburgh Post newspaper broadcast the first sports commentary in April 1921, covering the fight between Johnny Ray and Johnny "Hutch" Dundee at theMotor Square Garden, Pittsburgh.[11]
One of the highest-paid sportscasters in the United States isTony Romo, a former NFL quarterback and professional golfer who serves as lead color analyst for theNFL on CBS; Romo earns $17,000,000 per year for his contributions to the network.[12]
Jim Rome being the highest paid sports Broadcasters in The United States, making over 30,000,000 per year, Jim also has his own Sports talk show called The Jim Rome Show syndicated by CBS Sports Radio.[13]
In 1975, the National Hockey League (NHL) made headlines when two coaches of theNHL All-Star Game in Montreal allowedRobin Herman (The New York Times) and Marcelle St. Cyr (CKLM radio in Montreal) access into the men's locker room. Both were believed to have been the first women ever allowed to enter a professional men's locker room to conduct a post-game interview.[14] Sport organizations began to follow in the NHL's footsteps and allowed for other female sportswriters to be given the same access as men sportswriters.[15]
It was not until the year 1977 whenMelissa Ludtke, a sportswriter fromSports Illustrated, was given the assignment to cover the New York Yankees playoff series but was denied entry into the men's locker room.Baseball commissionerBowie Kuhn and other officials chose to discriminate against her based on her sex. Knowing that this would putSports Illustrated in a disadvantage from other publishers,Time Inc. and Ludtke filed a lawsuit against Kuhn.[15]
The lawsuit was taken to the United States District Court in 1978 where JudgeConstance Baker Motley ruled the act as violating theFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court ruled that the Yankees organization devise a plan to protect the players of their privacy while female sportswriters conducted interviews, suggesting the use of towels.[16]
After the access of allowing women in was put into effect, the Yankees organization allowed reporters to spend ten minutes interviewing players and was then asked to leave and wait. Male reporters were unhappy with this and blamed the women from keeping them out and not being able to do their job.[16]
In 1990, the issue made its way back into the headlines whenLisa Olson made a public statement revealing that players from the New England Patriots hadexposed themselves while interviews were being conducted. This prompted other female reporters who had been harassed to come forward. Their credibility was undermined by accusations that female interviewers appeared as being "too friendly" or conversing too long with players as though they were flirting. Thus, the issue of sexism was still present, despite the equal access to men's locker rooms.[15]
Though not always the case, inprofessional wrestling, the color commentator is usually a "heel sympathizer" (or a supporter of the "bad guys") as opposed to the play-by-play announcer, who is more or less the "voice of the fans" as well as "babyface sympathizers" (or supporters of the "good guys"). Though both are supposed to show neutral stance while announcing, the color commentators (especially when they support heels) are usually more blatant about their stance than the play-by-play announcers.Jesse "The Body" Ventura andBobby "The Brain" Heenan pioneered the "heel sympathizer" for color commentary in wrestling.[17]Jerry "The King" Lawler later made a successful transition into the same role, though Lawler has since shown more sympathy for faces, partially due to hispopularity with fans after a forty-year career.[18]
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper and"Macho Man" Randy Savage pioneered the "babyface sympathizer" for color commentary in wrestling.[19]Michael Cole, as a play-by-play announcer for WWE since 1999, has also portrayed this role for most of his announcing career. From 2010 to 2012, Cole served as a heel announcer, showing arrogance and contempt for faces and more sympathy for the heels (partially due to bullying from other face wrestlers, and jealousy fromon-screen authority figures and other commentators). However, after Lawler suffered alegitimate heart attack on the September 10, 2012 episode ofRaw, Cole broke character and continued to provide updates on his colleague's condition whilst simultaneously calling the action. His professionalism in the situation led to a slow babyface transition, which was cemented when the two men hugged in the ring upon Lawler's return to commentating two month later.[20]
In some cases, commentators are also activemanagers for wrestlers, usually following continuity as heels. FormerExtreme Championship Wrestling color commentatorCyrus was known for having dual roles as a heel manager and a somewhat neutral commentator, and continues to do so during his clients' matches inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling andAll Elite Wrestling. Acting as a commentator has also been used to keep injured wrestlers – such asSamoa Joe onRaw between late 2019 and April 2021 – in the public eye while recuperating. Special guest color commentators serve two purposes: the primary is usually to place them in position tointerfere with the match they are calling, the second is to provide promoters with the opportunity to determine if this performer can speak well extemporaneously.
Archived 2020-02-20 at theWayback Machine – Internet radio show in which John Lewis interviews leading American sports announcers
Media related tosports commentators at Wikimedia Commons
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