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Color commentator

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A color commentator, sometimes known as a color analyst, is a member of the broadcasting team for a sporting event who assists the play-by-play announcer by filling in any time when play is not in progress. It is North American terminology in origin, but is also now in wide use in the UK broadcasting industry. The color commentator provides expert analysis and background information, such as statistics, strategy and injury reports, on the teams and athletes, and occasionally light humor. Color commentators are often former players and/or coaches of the sport being broadcasted.

In the United Kingdom the term “co-commentator or “summariser” may be used instead on occasion, although commentary teams have a similar make-up, with one professional commentator describing the passage of play, and another, usually an ex-player or manager, providing supplementary input as the game progresses. The co-commentator will usually restrict his input to periods when the ball is out of play or there is no significant action on the pitch and will defer to the main commentator whenever there is a shot on goal or other significant event, sometimes resulting in their being talked-over or cut short by the primary commentator. Additionally, former players and managers appear as pundits, carrying out a similar role to the co-commentator during the build-up to the match, at half-time and at full-time.

In Germany, most soccer matches feature just a single play-by-play announcer, without a color commentator, the play-by-play announcer there provides background information and statistics by himself. In Spanish, the word comentarista is used, in opposition to relator who is the play-by-play announcer. In Brazil, the color commentator is usually referred as comentarista, like in Spanish. For soccer broadcasts, Brazilian TV channels usually also use a specialized referee commentator in addition to the normal commentator (almost always a former player or coach). In Australia the term is not used; rather, those giving the analysis alongside the commentator are said to be giving special comments. In Sweden the term expertkommentator is used for a knowledgeable sidekick to the play-by-play announcer.

Famous color commentators, past and present

American Football

Australian Rules Football

Baseball

Basketball

Boxing

Curling

Gaelic games

Ice Hockey

Mixed martial arts

Formula One in the United Kingdom

Nascar

Poker

Rugby league football (Australia)

Rugby league football (New Zealand)

Rugby league football (United Kingdom)

Rugby union (New Zealand)

Professional Wrestling

Soccer (United Kingdom)



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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 18:57:33 PDT (GMT -0700)
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