Sports Commentator Job Description
Sports commentators have a challenging job. They must succinctly and passionately convey the excitement of a sporting event to their viewers or listeners over the radio or television broadcast. They must convince an audience of the event's authenticity and be as descriptive as if the audience were witnessing the game in person. Though a deep, reverberating broadcast voice is helpful to become a sports commentator, it's not a prerequisite and there are many aspects to becoming a successful one.
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Motivation
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Being passionate about broadcasting is important to sports commentating Sports commentators sometimes live a thrilling lifestyle calling games from behind the microphone--sometimes an enticing substitute to athletes that weren't quite talented enough to compete athletically in college or the professional ranks. Successful sports commentators, however, are passionate about their career and the energy captivates their listeners. Commentators have little hope winning over their audience if they're not ambitious about what they do.
Education
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Typically, employers of sports commentators require a bachelors, masters or graduate degree in Broadcast Journalism, Mass Media or Radio/TV Broadcasting. However, there are many other alternatives offering specialized instruction including an associates degree at a two-year institution, broadcasting schools or various online courses dedicated to the sports commentator. Individuals training for a career in sports broadcasting often have success in schools that have a campus radio or TV station or other hands-on education.
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Experience
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Sports commentators work in an extremely competitive career field, therefore experience is at a premium. To get ahead of the competition, many individuals training to be a sports commentator seek internships at local radio or television stations--even while in school. Stations are often eager to hire interns, sometimes on a paid basis, to gain valuable experience while working 15 to 25 hours a week. For some students, it may not be prudent to devote that much of their spare time to a job that doesn't pay the bills, but the long-term affects have been well worth the risk for many sports commentators.
Duties
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Sports commentators don't have your typical 9 to 5 job. Most games are on nights and weekends. Sports commentators often arrive several hours in advance of the broadcast, beginning with a production meeting with producers, camera or other people involved in the broadcast transmission. Research on teams and players is often done in advance, including any relevant stats or bios. Occasionally, broadcasters will need to conduct interviews before the game and assist with sound and equipment checks. Upon conclusion, commentators often conduct interviews, record sound bites for the station's news segments and assist in packing the equipment. Some commentators, especially at smaller stations, will also record voice-overs for commercials, weather reports and perform live advertisements during broadcasts.
Income
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The typical annual salary for a sports commentator can range from $26,000 to $84,000 [REFERENCE 1]. However, while smaller radio stations on an entry-level basis might pay $15,000 to $20,000, sports commentators for larger stations such as CBS, Fox, ESPN and NBC might earn well over $100,000. According to Payscale, as of 2007 the average radio broadcaster salary was $30,236 and TV broadcasters averaged $62,992 [REFERENCE 4].
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References
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- Photo Credit Announcer and dj at small broadcasting station image by Oleg Kulakov from Fotolia.com microphone image by Goran Bogicevic from Fotolia.com
