Sports commentator There are however exceptions to this — most of the United Kingdom's leading cricket and snooker commentators are former professionals in their sports, while the former Formula One racing commentator Murray Walker had no formal journalistic training and only limited racing experience of his own. In the United States, George "Pat" Summerall, a former professional kicker, spent most of his broadcasting career as a play-by-play announcer. Although the combination of a play-by-play announcer and a color commentator is standard , in the past it was much more common for a broadcast to have no analysts and just have a single
Color commentator Color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main commentator, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The phrase "color commentator" is primarily used in American English; the concept may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) or analyst (a term used throughout the English-speaking world). The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the action. The color commentator provides expert analysis and background information, such as statistics, strategy, and injury reports