Figure Skating TV Commentators thread

[mysticchic]

I love Ben and John!! They are great!
I noticed they toned down Johnny and Tara at the last few events. put johnny into a black suit and his hair is only pooffed about 4 inches. Tara in a black dress. At least they don't look like a dog and pony show. But they still talk. I have no idea how Terry deals with it. Tara's voice makes me crazy! Johnny sounds too catty.
Carol Lane just needs to go away. Anyone who has a skater that is competing needs not be commentating on any event. She is extra nasty to skaters that go against Piper and Paul. HD, BS, and more. NBC didn't allow Tanth to do any commentary until Charley retired. IN allowed hired her, but she was careful.
In the US, the networks have this thing about dead air. You must be talking at all times. it was one of the 1st things i learned when i worked in tv and radio. You should hear what the director says if there is a pause in sound. The swear words that come out of their mouths in .30 seconds is crazy. Noticed i put . 30 seconds. so i believe that is why we have to hear insessive chatter throughout the skates. i love the Olympic channel and British euro sports. you can listen to the music and then they speak.
Most of the people who watch skating fall in 2 categories. big fans or the casual ones. the big fans don't need any explanations of COP and casual fans could care less. They are of the mind set who falls less should win. (sorry about the cap issue. a kitten ripped off the cap button and it's a pain to push it down manually). just shut up, let us enjoy the entire program and explain during replays.

 

[Eeyora1]

I have a lot to say about figure skating commentary and here it goes-

Johnny and Tara- I’m totally biased here because I’m a bitter Chicken eating, Lavender wearing Kwan fan... Johnny’s ok sometimes a little snobby but he’s good at job. He has a nice calm voice- Tara on the other hand isn’t my cup tea. Back when she was a kid she actually had a decent speaking voice but now I find her voice extremely annoying. It’s also the fact that she seems to know very little about the judging system. And goes about giving her input on what worked for her. The only thing about Johnny that really still bugs me was during the 2014 Nationals exhibition he suggested
Mirai was left of the Olympic team as a result of racism. In my opinion it wasn’t the time or place to make that argument. I have my own opinions in the matter But I don’t want to hijack this thread...
However the main reason I like Johnny more than Tara was what I witnessed as a spectator at 2016 Worlds. Johnny arrived virtually as soon as the competition started for the early Ice Dance groups before most of the audience arrived. Watched and cheered and applauded for everyone. Tara didn’t arrive until much later not until the men’s short. And often looked at her phone and barely watched. She then continued the next morning to gaze at her phone throughout the women’s short during the early groups until Anastasia Galustyan performed, skating to ironically Anastasia. The music at least got her attention.

One thing I loved about Dick Button was he often brought up legends from the past “shades of Janet Lynn” I feel that is missing from their commentary. Now I’m not expecting them to go back that far but I wonder how their trivia and knowledge goes back.

Dick Button- I loved him. I hated him. I feel the same way about my late grandmother who in fact hated him. He was old school but he appreciated good skating. Sometimes went deep and down too far into the basic skills. Sometimes biased but he still to this day is one of my favorites.

Peggy Fleming- I think it was her calm voice that made her so tolerable. She could be catty at times. Especially when it came to Elaine Zayak.

Scott- where do I begin. I used to love him. During his CBS days with Verne Lunquist. But he was only as good as his partners. After the 2002 Olympics I lost total respect for him. “One last jump and the gold is theirs” on Sale and Pelletier. He then believed Yagudin had surrenderd his long program to Plushenko and in danger of to Goebel and then he called Michelle Kwan smart for doubling her combo. Never mind stating in 98 that she could get away with one maybe two mistakes and still win.

Sandra Bezic always rubbed me the wrong way.

I love Ben Agosto and John Coughlin- I’ll admit I’m probably the least knowledgeable skating fan but they’re great educators.

By far the worst ever for me were Peter Carruthers, Roz and Judy. All 1984 Olympians. Peter often seemed incoherent and sloshed at times. The only thing he was decent at was pairs. Roz seemed bitter as did Judy. Maybe there was something in the water at the 84 Olympics.

 

[aftershocks]

Peter often seemed incoherent and sloshed at times. The only thing he was decent at was pairs...

You should have seen the time when Peter C and Johnny W (circa 2012?) were interviewing Davis & White backstage on IceNetwork, and Peter kept saying outright suggestive things to Johnny about what he was wearing, etc. Peter was taking his innuendos a bit too far. Meanwhile, Johnny held his own, but he was not amused. Charlie and Meryl were exceedingly polite as always. It was obvious that Charlie & Meryl were not fazed by being caught up in Peter's banter with Johnny, albeit C&M were doing their best to remain professional, and they were clearly supportive of Johnny. Behind their smiles, I could detect that C&M were looking at Peter and thinking WTF!

I have a lot to say about figure skating commentary and here it goes- Johnny and Tara- I’m totally biased here because I’m a bitter Chicken eating, Lavender wearing Kwan fan... Johnny’s ok sometimes a little snobby but he’s good at job. He has a nice calm voice- Tara on the other hand isn’t my cup tea...

Honesty is a good thing. I don't really think Johnny is snobby, but nowadays, he doesn't have many opportunities to shine with his commentary, as he often can't get a word in edgewise. Even then, he does sometimes manage a few witty insights. It's just that I don't think NBC is all that invested in figure skating coverage, and their set-up for utilizing Terry, Tara and Johnny is extremely limited and thus limiting for TT&J to be able to make any kind of significant impact. Often during the GP, Terry is away on assignment (likely covering basketball). Network coverage of figure skating in the U.S. has always been rather scarce, limited and inadequate, but these days it's practically nonexistent. The little bit we are able to see is fairly useless, boring and uninformative to diehard fans who've already been following events online.

In the beginning, when they first began as a team, TT&J were refreshing. Now, it simply feels as if NBC's approach is so strictured and status quo, that there's no wiggle room for the trio to do very much on network broadcasts. To me they seem strait-jacketed and a bit forced at times in their delivery, albeit still exhibiting a comfort level and an easy chemistry with each other. If indeed directors are urging them to fill the silences, Tara has certainly complied. As I said earlier, I haven't watched NBC's television coverage in the last couple of weeks, but from listening to the Wakaba Higuchi commentary at CoC via Youtube, it does seem that Tara has toned down her talkativeness to a degree, and their overall comments are more to the point and technically-oriented. I don't have anything against Tara or her tone of voice. MK vs Tara is so two decades ago by now! I think Tara generally sounds aggressively confident, but behind her seeming on-air confidence may lie some insecurities. With the apparent adjustments by NBC that @mysticchic noted earlier, perhaps they are gearing up for Olympic season coverage and attempting to appeal to a wider audience aside from regular figure skating fans. Who knows?

Overall, I am not enthusiastic about any of the figure skating coverage these days. The Eurosport guys are generally entertaining and thoughtful, if not always accurate. Ted Barton is exceptionally good. I actually feel that Johnny was superb when he first started on IceNetwork in 2012. Now, he just seems a bit jaded about it all and somewhat detached. However, I think he's handicapped by NBC's less than committed, inexpert, superficial, and hype-driven approach to the sport. Johnny's talent and expertise has been wasted and I don't see much growth on his part or full-scale engagement. Tara has been okay at times, but she's somewhat uneven in her comments, in addition to being overly gabby.

As someone mentioned earlier, and as I've previously observed, Johnny and Tara could benefit by bringing a greater historical knowledge of the sport to the booth. They need to read Dick Button's book, and seek out his knowledge. Better yet, why not film 15-minute figure skating history spots with Dick in the lead-up to and during the Pyeongchang Olympics coverage! Tara and Johnny alternating with Terry could engage with Dick on a variety of historical topics that Dick could relate in a way that contrasts with and/or enhances an understanding of what's happening today, illuminating the trajectory of how and why things have changed in the sport for better or worse. The 15-minute history highlights could be entitled: 'On the Ice with Uncle Dick' or 'Iced Tea with Uncle Dick.' For example, Dick's description in his book, Push Dick's Button, about how he accidentally invented the Button camel aka the flying camel spin is hilarious, entertaining, educational, thought-provoking and inspirational. These spots could obviously be filmed as longer sessions well in advance and then edited into 15-minute segments.

So among current Western commentators, Ted Barton is best. John Coughlin and Ben Agosto are excellent, and I think Ryan Bradley is pretty good despite some of the complaints about his delivery. I enjoy Charlie White's insights about ice dance, and Tanith's coverage is always knowledgeable and above average. Kurt Browning makes me laugh, and I could listen to *David Pelletier's voice all day. Aside from Tracy Wilson and Debbi Wilkes, the other CBC broadcasters rarely distinguish themselves. For Eurosport, I find Mark Hanretty's voice quite soothing and musical, plus he's generally very honest in acknowledging his personal opinions while also trying to be objective. Molly Oberstar is very good, and Mike Weiss is decent on the IN Nationals broadcasts.

I would love to see more in-depth coverage year round in the form of an interview show combined with knowledgeable panel discussion debate/analysis of events, and of ongoing issues and concerns in the sport of figure skating.

* BTW, three current skaters who come to mind who have lovely, sexy speaking voices are Michal Brezina, Brendan Kerry, and Morgan Cipres. I also enjoy Nathan Chen's deep, confident voice. And the hot hairstyle awards for the start of this season have got to go to Vanessa James and Meagan Duhamel (Meagan's gorgeous haircut was likely inspired by Vanessa's boffo haircut earlier in the off-season).

 

[Dobre]

Favorites in dance:

Ben & Tanith.

 

[WildRose]

Carol Lane just needs to go away. Anyone who has a skater that is competing needs not be commentating on any event. She is extra nasty to skaters that go against Piper and Paul. HD, BS, and more. NBC didn't allow Tanth to do any commentary until Charley retired. IN allowed hired her, but she was careful.

I’m not a big Carol Lane fan but I do respect her expertise and I certainly don’t have a problem with commentators who have skaters that are competing. They understand all the rules, and are up to speed on not only their own skaters, but the field as a whole. Successful coaches don’t just work with one skater, and often they work with skaters who compete against each other. They have to have the ability to be objective to do their jobs. Tracy Wilson coaches many of the top skaters in the world and nobody complains about her. I don’t want to listen to a commentator who is just a cheerleader for my favourite skater. I want a commentator who has been there, done that, and can explain things and teach me more about the sport, and who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is when they see something they don’t like - because it is a sport - and they know more about it then I do.

 

[screech]

One thing about Tracy is that she's not the 'main' coach of any of the big skaters, and it's very rare to see her in the K&C with a skater. She was there at (I think) Worlds last year, and I remember being completely flabbergasted seeing her sitting with her skaters.

I think it's also because she has so many top skaters representing so many different countries competing against each other that she's able to be more impartial than Carol.

 

[dewey]

John Coughlin FTW. And I would be interested to know how many of you remember Dick Button from before his head injury. I think a lot of young people who complained about him only heard his commentary after his TBI.

 

[tony]

John Coughlin FTW. And I would be interested to know how many of you remember Dick Button from before his head injury. I think a lot of young people who complained about him only heard his commentary after his TBI.

His head injury was in 2001 shortly before Nationals while he was taping a fluff piece for the event IIRC. In the five or so years prior (when ABC got the rights to pretty much everything), he tended to go on tangents but I have to say as a kid and pre-teen, I learned the most about technique and good skating qualities from his commentary.

 

[Clay]

His head injury was in 2001 shortly before Nationals while he was taping a fluff piece for the event IIRC. In the five or so years prior (when ABC got the rights to pretty much everything), he tended to go on tangents but I have to say as a kid and pre-teen, I learned the most about technique and good skating qualities from his commentary.

Those were probably long days when he was commentating OES skaters (Diana Poth, Vorobieva, etc)

I wonder what he would have said about Michelle Kwan's 2001 Worlds performance.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Ryan Bradley lapses into a sort of sing-song style of speaking that gets really annoying. If has to listen to himself, I bet he could break that habit.

I remember really liking Coughlin as a commentator. Pleasant voice, interesting things to say.

I like Tanith and Ben Agosto the best. Lovely voices, much knowledge.

ITA with your assessments. Bradley is not only sing song, he is rather pedantic.

 

[Cachoo]

I think it is important to note that, especially in an Olympic season, you have many fans tuning in that have little knowledge about the sport. Or, like me, they are fans but have little experience on the ice and truly don't know what is difficult and what is accomplished with ease. For example we see singles skaters often open with a double axle to "get their feet under them." I always believed, in pairs, that the triple twist was placed at the beginning because it was an "easy" element that allowed pairs skaters to "get their feet under them." I had no idea it was there because it was early before strength started to ebb away. For this reason I appreciate information and then I appreciate warmth.

In singles it is Tara and Johnny for me: Both are informative but generally Johnny gives us technical information and Tara gives me more of an idea of how it feels to be out there on the ice and how it feels to be hitting everything and how it feels to struggle. I like his information (and she has information too) and I like her empathy (and Johnny has empathy as well.) They have been there. I can't remember who was talking to Jason but Jason had mentioned that often at the beginning of the season there were moves (beyond the jumps) that he needed to learn and perfect. Johnny and Tara are both good at letting us know that it is more than the jumps even though the jumps are paramount.

The other four that I appreciate are Ben Agosto and Tanith White and Tracy Wilson and John Coughlin. Again all four will give those of us who do not skate crucial information about what is important in the Pairs and Dance disciplines. And like Johnny and Tara they are warm and empathetic. I do like Ryan but did not like the sing-song quality in his voice. To his credit I heard that a lot less this year. And I always loved Scott's enthusiasm. And Terry Gannon is a fine host. He can fit in anywhere with any personality--a true professional. If there is a commentator I miss it is Susie Wynne as I thought she was the perfect mix if expertise and warmth. I hope she is still out there announcing somewhere.

 

[Ka3sha]

Who does commentary on Olympic Channel?

 

[mollymgr]

Who does commentary on Olympic Channel?

They have rotated between Ryan Bradley (singles/pairs), Andrea Joyce, Steve Schlanger, Tracy Wilson, Ben Agosto(ice dance) and Charlie White (ice dance) so far this season.

 

[Ka3sha]

They have rotated between Ryan Bradley (singles/pairs), Andrea Joyce, Steve Schlanger, Tracy Wilson, Ben Agosto(ice dance) and Charlie White (ice dance) so far this season.

Thanks

 

[clairecloutier]

Can anyone tell me who was commentating pairs on British eUrosport for GP France this weekend?

Here's a video: https://youtu.be/KTLOQ4Vp8zw

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Speaking of Peter Carruthers, this piece of commentary is absolute gold, however.

 

[Seerek]

Yes indeed, back in the very old Usenet days of R.S.S.I.F., some posters would have signatures that said "Don't go there, Dorothy"

Can anyone tell me who was commentating pairs on British eUrosport for GP France this weekend?

Here's a video: https://youtu.be/KTLOQ4Vp8zw

Sounds like Simon and Mark H. to me.

 

[clairecloutier]

Sounds like Simon and Mark H. to me.

Thanks @Seerek. Is Simon the more "technical" commentator, speaking about the jump elements and such?

 

[Sylvia]

Is Simon the more "technical" commentator, speaking about the jump elements and such?

Yes.

If it helps, Mark Hanretty has the Scottish accent.

I can't tell Simon Reed's and Chris Howarth's voices apart... has Howarth done any commentary for British Eurosport this season?

 

[Seerek]

Thanks @Seerek. Is Simon the more "technical" commentator, speaking about the jump elements and such?

Eurosport's Simon Reed would be the equivalent of Andrea Joyce/Terry Gannon on NBC/Olympic Channel.
He's the "host" commentator, but the big differentiation is that Simon can actually identify all the jump types (not just the axel).

He's been commentating skating for British TV as far back as the mid-1980s
(That clip has the late Betty Callaway, Torvill/Dean's coach. And yes, Vanessa Riley was judging back then too)

During the springs/summers, you'll hear Simon cover tennis for ITV/Eurosport at the grand slams/Masters 1000s/WTA Premier.

As for Chris Howarth, he was heard at NHK Trophy with Mark H. for Day 1, and Simon for Day 2.

No Nicky Slater or Joanne Conway as of yet this season (Nicky was last heard at 2017 Euros).

Catherine Whitaker (also a tennis commentator during spring/summer) was heard on Day 1 of Skate Canada. She apparently has some skating background (not elite).

 

[I Luv Bulldogs]

Toller Cranston . . . . loved and miss him.

I like David Pelletier. I actually learn stuff about pairs skating.

My mom and I nicknamed Rod Black, Woody cuz he gets very excited especially when talking about Elvis

 

[Amantide]

ItaESP - Massimiliano Ambesi, Angelo Dolfini
BESP - Nicky Slater, Simon Reed and Chris Howarth
tdp (Teledeporte) - Paloma and Susana
Dick Button
Carol Lane

 

[Wyliefan]

They have rotated between Ryan Bradley (singles/pairs), Andrea Joyce, Steve Schlanger, Tracy Wilson, Ben Agosto(ice dance) and Charlie White (ice dance) so far this season.

They need to quit pairing Ryan and Steve. Steve doesn't say much, and it makes Ryan ramble to try to fill the void. It doesn't seem to happen so much when they put Steve with Tracy, but she's more experienced and so probably knows better how to find a good balance.

 

[Amantide]

He's been commentating skating for British TV as far back as the mid-1980s
(That clip has the late Betty Callaway, Torvill/Dean's coach. And yes, Vanessa Riley was judging back then too)

I love Simon. I remember that video with Vanessa Riley compilation and Simon couldn't stop laughing at her low scores to Bonaly.

 

[mollymgr]

They need to quit pairing Ryan and Steve. Steve doesn't say much, and it makes Ryan ramble to try to fill the void. It doesn't seem to happen so much when they put Steve with Tracy, but she's more experienced and so probably knows better how to find a good balance.

Let's see how he works out with Bill Doleman this week. Steve likes to offer useless trivia to break the silence, especially for dance.

 

[barbarafan]

They need to quit pairing Ryan and Steve. Steve doesn't say much, and it makes Ryan ramble to try to fill the void. It doesn't seem to happen so much when they put Steve with Tracy, but she's more experienced and so probably knows better how to find a good balance.

What channel is Tracy on?

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

No Nicky Slater or Joanne Conway as of yet this season (Nicky was last heard at 2017 Euros).

I believe Joanne commentated during the ladies' event at Skate Canada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2OTJIR3Pd4&

 

[Seerek]

I believe Joanne commentated during the ladies' event at Skate Canada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2OTJIR3Pd4&

Yes, it does sound like Joanne, but as you see in the link in my post above to her Twitter Account (the tweet with her in the studio), it was in fact Catherine Whitaker (who also did commentary during last season's Grand Prix). She only did Day 1 of the Skate Canada coverage for Eurosport.

 

[all_empty]

Love Tracy Wilson.

Have great respect for Ted Barton who always finds something nice to say even about the lower ranked juniors. I think he calls 1,000+ programs on the JGP every season.

Dislike Kurt Browning. He takes weird pauses when he can't finish a thought that are ... just ... odd.

David Pelletier is growing on me but sometimes I can't understand his accent.

Definitely miss the legendary ABC team of Dick Button and Peggy Fleming. Susie Wynn was also very good at calling singles as well as dance. Peter Carruthers was definitely in his element with pairs. And of course, Terry Gannon to anchor the entire team.

 

[allezfred]

I can't tell Simon Reed's and Chris Howarth's voices apart... has Howarth done any commentary for British Eurosport this season?

Easiest way to tell them apart is that Howarth does the in depth technical analysis and Reed just talks rubbish.

Howarth has done commentary this season (am watching Skate Canada ladies free ).