In
sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a
real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a
live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the
historical present
In linguistics and rhetoric, the historical present or historic present, also called dramatic present or narrative present, is the employment of the present tense when narrating past events. It is widely used in writing about history in Latin ( ...
tense. Radio was the first medium for sports broadcasts, and radio commentators must describe all aspects of the action to listeners who cannot see it for themselves. In the case of televised sports coverage, commentators are usually presented as a
voiceover
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...
, 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.
Types of commentators
Main/play-by-play commentator
The ''main commentator'', also called the ''play-by-play'' announcer or commentator in North America, ''blow-by-blow'' in combat sports coverage, ''lap-by-lap'' for motorsports coverage, or ''
ball-by-ball'' for cricket coverage, is the primary speaker on 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 like
Al Michaels
Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster currently working as the play-by-play announcer for ''Thursday Night Football'' on Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on netw ...
in the U.S.,
David Coleman in the UK and
Bruce 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 (
Mike Emrick
Michael "Doc" Emrick (born August 1, 1946) is an American former network television play-by-play sportscaster and commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. He was the lead announcer for National Hockey League national telecasts on bot ...
, for example, is known almost exclusively as a hockey broadcaster). 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, have been simulcast on radio and television since the late 1990s).
Analyst/color commentator
The ''analyst or color commentator'' 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 analyst. The most common format for a sports broadcast is to have an analyst/color commentator work alongside the main/play-by-play announcer. An example is ''
NBC Sunday Night Football'' in the United States, which is called by color commentator
Cris Collinsworth
Anthony Cris Collinsworth (born January 27, 1959) is an American sports broadcaster and former professional American football player. Collinsworth was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons (1981-1988), all with ...
, a former NFL receiver, and play-by-play commentator
Al Michaels
Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster currently working as the play-by-play announcer for ''Thursday Night Football'' on Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on netw ...
, 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 leading
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
and
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in Ind ...
commentators are former professionals in their sports, while the former
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...
racing commentator
Murray Walker
Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English motorsport commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live Formula One coverage for the BBC between 1976 and 1996, and for ITV between 1997 and 2 ...
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 comic
double act
A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...
than a traditional sports commentary pairing). In the United States,
Pat Summerall
George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS, Fox, and ESPN. In addition to football, he announced major golf and tennis events. Summerall announ ...
, a former professional kicker, spent most of his broadcasting career as a play-by-play announcer. Comedian
Dennis Miller
Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian.
He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a strin ...
's short-lived run as part of the ''
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...
'' booth in 2001 caused what Miller himself described as a "maelstrom" of perplexed reviews.
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
Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was best known for his 67 seasons calling games for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning in 1950 (when the franchise was located ...
, 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 on ''Monday 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
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
was one long-running example) or a comedian (such as the aforementioned Dennis Miller).
Sideline reporter
A ''sideline reporter'' assists a sports broadcasting crew with
sideline coverage of the
playing field or court. The sideline reporter typically makes live updates on
injuries
An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or ...
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 the
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...
and
2020 incarnations of the XFL featured sideline reporters in a much more prominent role.
In motorsports, it is typical for there to be multiple ''pit reporters'', covering the event from along 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, as
Fox 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), and
Adam Alexander (did Cup for Fox-produced TNT broadcasts from 2010–14, Xfinity on Fox since 2015) did the same too.
Sports presenter/studio host
In British sports broadcasting, the ''presenter'' of a sports broadcast is usually distinct from the commentator, and often based in a
remote broadcast
In broadcast engineering, a remote broadcast (usually just called a remote or a live remote, or in news parlance, a live shot) is broadcasting done from a location away from a formal television studio and is considered an electronic field product ...
television studio
A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for t ...
away from the sports venue. In North America, the on-air personality based in the studio is called the ''studio host''. During their shows, the presenter/studio host may be joined by additional analysts or pundits, especially when showing highlights of various other matches.
Other roles
Various sports may have different commentator roles to cover situations unique to that sport. In the 2010s, as popularized by Fox,
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
broadcasts began to increasingly employ ''rules analysts'' to explain
penalties
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* P ...
and controversial calls, and analyze
instant replay reviews to predict whether a call will or will not be overturned. These analysts are typically former
referees.
Sportscaster
In
North American English
North American English (NAmE, NAE) is the most generalized variety (linguistics), variety of the English language as spoken in the United States and Canada. Because of their related histories and cultures, plus the similarities between the pron ...
, ''sportscaster'' is a general term for any type of commentator in a sports broadcast. It may also refer to a
sports talk show host or a
newscaster covering sports news.
Esports
In
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
s, and particularly
esports, commentators are often called ''shoutcasters''; this term is derived from
Shoutcast, an internet audio streaming plugin and protocol associated with the
Winamp
Winamp is a media player for Microsoft Windows originally developed by Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev by their company Nullsoft, which they later sold to AOL in 1999 for $80 million. It was then acquired by Radionomy in 2014. Sin ...
media player. They are also sometimes referred to as simply ''casters''.
United States
While sports broadcasts took place from 1912, Florent Gibson of the ''
Pittsburgh Post'' newspaper broadcast the first sports commentary in April 1921, covering the fight between Johnny Ray and Johnny "Hutch" Dundee at the
Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh.
The highest-paid sportscaster in the United States is
Tony Romo, a former NFL quarterback and professional golfer who serves as lead color analyst for the ''
NFL on CBS
The ''NFL on CBS'' is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. The network has aired NFL game telecasts sin ...
''; Romo earns $17,000,000 per year for his contributions to the network.
Women
In 1975, the National Hockey League (NHL) made headlines when two coaches from the
NHL All-Star Game in Montreal allowed
Robin Herman and Marcel St. Cyr. 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.
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.
It was not until the year 1977 when
Melissa Ludtke, a sportswriter from ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...
'', was given the assignment to cover the New York Yankees playoff series but was denied entry into the men's locker room.
Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn and other officials chose to discriminate against her based on her sex. Knowing that this would put ''Sports Illustrated'' in a disadvantage from other publishers,
Time Inc. and Ludtke filed a lawsuit against Kuhn.
[
The lawsuit was taken to the United States District Court in 1978 where Judge Constance Baker Motley ruled the act as violating the ]14th Amendment of the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Often considered as one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and ...
. 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.
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.[
In 1990, the issue made its way back into the headlines when Lisa Olson made a public statement revealing that players from the New England Patriots had exposed 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.][
]
In professional wrestling
Though not always the case, in professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
, 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 and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan pioneered the "heel sympathizer" for color commentary in wrestling. Jerry "The King" Lawler later made a successful transition into the role, though Lawler has since shown more sympathy for faces (partially due to being over
Over may refer to:
Places
*Over, Cambridgeshire, England
*Over, Cheshire, England
*Over, South Gloucestershire, England
*Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England
**Over Bridge
*Over, Seevetal, Germany
Music
Albums
* ''Over'' (album), by Pete ...
with fans after nearly forty years in wrestling).
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor.
In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...
and "Macho Man" Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...
pioneered the "babyface sympathizer" for color commentary in wrestling. Michael Cole later made a successful transition into the role, though Cole has sometimes since shown more sympathy for the heels (partially due to being bullied by other face wrestlers like Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...
, The Rock, and John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...
, and the jealousy of Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long, and other WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ...
rs like Jerry "The King" Lawler and "Good Old J.R." Jim Ross (due to the liking favorite for reading emails from the Anonymous Raw General Manager
The Anonymous Raw General Manager was a professional wrestling authority figure in WWE, who anonymously controlled the Raw brand from June 21, 2010 to July 18, 2011. The Anonymous General Manager controlled the show by sending emails to a lapto ...
, and for cheering for The Miz
Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz.
Mizanin first gained fame ...
, from 2010 to 2012)). In some cases, commentators are also active managers
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
for wrestlers, usually following continuity as heels. Former Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
color commentator Cyrus was known for having dual roles as a heel manager and a somewhat neutral commentator. Acting as a commentator has also been used to keep injured wrestlers in the public eye while recuperating. Special guest color commentators serve a two purposes: the primary is usually to place them in position to interfere with the match they are calling, the second is to provide promoters with the opportunity to determine if this performer can speak well extemporaneously.
See also
* Announcerless game
The announcerless game was an American football contest played on December 20, 1980, between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. As an experiment, the NBC television network broadcast it without assigning any ...
, December 1980, experimental broadcast of an NFL game without TV commentators
* List of sports announcers
* List of Major League Baseball retired numbers#Broadcasters
References
External links
Sportcaster Chronicles
– Internet radio show in which John Lewis interviews leading American sports announcers
{{Authority control
Broadcasting occupations
Sports terminology
Television terminology
Sports mass media people