Color commentator

United States and Canada

Commentary teams typically feature one professional commentator describing the passage of play, and another, usually a former player, coach, or expert, providing supplementary input as the sports event progresses. Color commentators usually restrict their input to times that the ball or the puck is out of play, or there is no significant action on the field or the court. They usually defer to the main commentator when a shot on goal or another significant event occurs. That sometimes results in them being talked over or cut short by the primary commentator. Former players and managers also appear as pundits and carry out a similar role to that of the co-commentator during the pre-game show before a given contest and the post-game show after it.

In American motorsports coverage, there may be as many as two color commentators in the booth for a given broadcast.

Rules analyst In the 2010s, some sports broadcasters began to employ rules analysts, a contributor—typically a former referee—who provides analysis and opinions of calls made by referees officiating the sports event. The practice was first popularized in the NFL, with Fox hiring former officials Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino. The practice has since been extended to other sports, with officials such as Steve Javie (basketball), Dave Jackson (hockey), and Joe Machnik (soccer) having taken on similar roles for ESPN/ABC and Fox respectively. CBS similarly hired Gene Steratore in 2018; consistent with his background, he has been employed for both NFL and college basketball coverage.

United Kingdom

The term "color commentator" is largely unknown outside American sports. In the United Kingdom, the equivalent role is usually called "summarizer" but other terms used are "analyst", "pundit" or simply "co-commentator". Cricket coverage on ESPNcricinfo uses similar terminology.

Australia and New Zealand

The term is not used in Australia or New Zealand. Those giving the analysis alongside the main commentator are sometimes said to be giving additional or expert analysis, or "special comments", or they may be referred to as "expert commentators".

Latin America

For Association football broadcasts on Latin American sports television channels, such a commentator is called a comentarista in both Spanish and Portuguese and contrasts with the narrador, locutor (Spanish and Portuguese) or relator (Spanish - Argentina and Uruguay) who leads the transmission. The term "color" is not used or translated.

References

References

1. "Color commentator | Define Color commentator at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com.
2. (November 29, 2010). "What Is a Color Commentator?". [[Houston Chronicle]].
3. (January 8, 2014). "Announcers: Occupational Outlook Handbook — What Announcers Do". [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]].
4. (May 2, 2012). "Color Commentary and Play by Play: A Well-Rounded Approach to Facebook". Inkling Media.
5. (January 7, 2014). "The Sportscaster: A Brief History & Job Description". Americansportscastersonline.com.
6. John Lund. (November 27, 2012). "The Top Three Keys For Becoming a Color Commentator". Sportsideo.com.
7. Kedzie, Julie. (July 18, 2013). "Julie Kedzie Breaks Down the Art of MMA Color Commentary". Vice.
8. Deitsch, Richard. (January 11, 2012). "NFL's most indispensable broadcasting talents".
9. McCarthy, Michael. (September 6, 2016). "Fox NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira is lethal 'weapon' rival networks don't have". Sporting News.
10. Caldwell, Dave. (January 22, 2019). "Rise of the TV rules analysts shows the NFL has a problem".
11. Bucholtz, Andrew. (June 3, 2022). "Fox Sports adds Joe Machnik as a soccer rules analyst".
12. King, Jay. (May 13, 2022). "Ex-NBA referee Steve Javie weighs in on officiating: 'Welcome to the playoffs'".
13. (September 29, 2021). "TNT Adds Don Koharski As NHL Rules Analyst {{!}} Barrett Media".
14. Alper, Josh. (June 26, 2018). "CBS announces Gene Steratore as NFL, college basketball rules analyst". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com.com.