Play - by - play In sports broadcasting , a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time , usually during a live broadcast . The comments are normally a voiceover , with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background . In the case of television commentary , the commentator is on screen rarely if at all . In North American English , other general terms for a commentator are announcer and sportscaster . ( " Sportscaster " may also refer to a newscaster covering sports news . ) In British broadcasting , the presenter of a sports broadcast is usually distinct from the commentator , and often based in a remote broadcast television studio away from the sports venue . Often , the main commentator ( called a play - by - play in North America ) is assisted by a color commentator , and sometimes a sideline reporter . In case of big events , teams consisting of many sideline reporters are placed strategically so that the color commentator has many sources to turn to , for example some sideline reporters could be in the dressing room area while others could be between the respective team benches . Types of sports broadcasters . Play - by - play announcers are the primary speakers , valued for their articulateness and ability to describe the events of an often fast - moving contest . Color commentator s are valued for experience and insight into the game , and are often asked questions by the play - by - play announcer to give them a topic for analysis . The latter most often have gained their experience in the sport as a player and / or coach , while the former is more likely to be a professional broadcast journalist than a participant in the sport , although there are numerous exceptions to these general trends . The most common format for a sports television broadcast is to have one of each type . An example is NBC Sunday Night Football in the United States , which is called by Cris Collinsworth , a former American football receiver , and Al Michaels , a professional announcer . In the United Kingdom however there is a much less distinct division between play - by - play and color commentary , although two - man commentary teams usually feature an enthusiast with formal journalistic training but little or no competitive experience leading the commentary , and an expert former ( or current ) competitor following up with analysis or summary . There are however exceptions to this - all of the United Kingdom ' s major cricket and snooker commentators are former professionals in their sports , while the legendary Formula One racing commentator Murray Walker had no formal journalistic training and only limited racing experience of his own . Another difference between the two types is that color commentators will almost always announce only a sport in which they played or coached , while play - by - play announcers , such as Michaels and David Coleman in the UK , may have careers in which they call several different sports at one time or another . However , Brad Daugherty , a former professional basketball player , currently appears on coverage of NASCAR auto racing on ESPN . Although the combination of a play - by - play announcer and one or more color commentators is standard today , in the past it was much more common for a play - by - play announcer to work alone . Vin Scully , longtime announcer for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team , is one of few examples of this practice still existing today . United States . While there were sports broadcasts from 1912 , the first sports commentary was broadcast in April 1921 by Florent Gibson of the Pittsburg Star newspaper covering the fight between Johnny Ray and Johnny " Hutch " Dundee at the Motor Square Garden , Pittsburgh . In the United States , nearly all professional sports teams , most collegiate teams — as well as a dwindling number of high schools have their own Sports commentators , who are usually recognized as the voice of the team on radio broadcasts and are often identified as part of the team like the players or the coaches . In addition , television network s and cable channels will have their own stable of play - by - play announcers that work with various teams .