Types of sports programs.

 

There are various kinds of sports programs. There are the on -the -spot. broadcast of an event, the descriptive account based upon telegraphic reports, the after -the -event résumé, the dramatized sports program, and the straight recapitulation of wire news; there are also combinations of these. The type of broadcast which attracts the largest number of listeners is a running description of a sports event which is taking place at the very moment that the news comes over the air. Examples are broadcasts of football, baseball, hockey, and basketball games, tennis and golf matches, track meets, boxing bouts, boat races, and wrestling matches. Of these, hockey is the most difficult to broadcast and rarely is done well. It is such an exceedingly fast affair that the man at the microphone is almost always behind the action. The other extreme is baseball. Taking advantage of the fact that he has all the time in the world between pitches, the commentator employs a slow delivery and uses a great amount of fill-in material. The baseball game is comparatively easy to broadcast because there are few line-up changes after the season starts. Fans are extremely critical if you err. Describing a basketball game requires a thorough knowledge of the game. The broadcaster must have a very fast speech rate and excellent eyesight. Aside from naming substitutions, the "spotter" does not help much. Obviously, the spotter is useless also in describing a boxing match. Knowledge of boxing is necessary for broadcasting, since motion pictures of big fights are exhibited widely and listeners can check up on any important radio error. A speedy delivery is also called for. Football is not difficult to broadcast because of the exceptional facilities in press boxes and the extensive pregame preparation. A spotter is necessary. The same man usually does color and playby-play, so wide -range vocabulary is needed. A tennis match is difficult to broadcast, for the strokes are difficult to call and possess technical names. A combination of a thorough knowledge of the game and the ability to fill are essential qualities in the announcer. Golf reportage is also difficult. There is such a long time between strokes that a tremendous amount of ad-libbing is necessary. Furthermore, the voice has to be controlled so that it will not annoy the players.