5 Resources to Improve Your Sports Broadcasting Play-by-Play and Color Commentary

One of the key elements to a good live broadcast of a sporting event is the announcing. Good play-by-play and color commentary can add a lot to a stream, especially if that stream is broadcast at a low bandwidth. Here are five resources (and many tips within)  to help sports announcers with their play-by-play or color commentary.

  1. 5 Tips for Announcers: Advice to live by behind the mic – This quick tip sheet on SchoolVideoNews.com is written by Chris Dubiel of High School Cube and offers tips from use emotions properly to be prepared.
  2. 7 Tips for Broadcasting a New Sport – Posted by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America, this post looks a little thin if you just glance at it. However, it offers some good tips and links out to some helpful resources such as the STAA Play-by-Play Pyramid and Tips for Memorizing Rosters.
  3. Play by Play Tips by Sports Broadcaster Bruce Barker – The post starts off with 8 tips by Barker and adds an additional 20 on two more pages  if you keep clicking at the bottom of the post pages.
  4. Five Tips you Need to Follow if you Want a Play-by-Play Job – Veteran Hockey play-by-play announcer Doug McLeod offers some tips in this post on WorkInSports.com. One of the tips he offers is to “Dress for Success.”
  5. How To: Color Commentate (Sports) – Looking for a video to watch? Check out this 3 1/2 minute video from CHTV99 at Carmel High School in Indiana. It covers a variety of topics from evaluation to execution.

Aaron Manfull

Aaron is in his 26th year of advising student media. He is currently the Director of Student Media at Francis Howell North High School in St. Charles, Missouri. He is the Journalism Education Association Digital Media Chair and co-Director of Media Now. He is the 2023 JEA Teacher Inspiration Award Winner and is a former Dow Jones News Fund National Journalism Teacher of the Year. He is one of the authors of the textbook "Student Journalism and Media Literacy." You can find him on X and Instagram @manfull. He's a proud father. A transplanted Iowan. And an avid Hawkeye Fan.

Aaron Manfull has 865 posts and counting. See all posts by Aaron Manfull

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