Sports Commentary: From Hobby to Career

By Thomas Zhou

Gang Wang at the Olympics

His father is one of the earliest Chinese Sports commentators and Gang Wang says he always remembers his advice. "He told me that sports commentary is not show business."

Wang agrees that entertainment should not be the first concern of TV programs. As a sports commentator at Jiangsu Sports Channel, a channel located in Jiangsu Province in China, Wang compares his job to that of a tourist guide. “You have to introduce game details and strategy to the audience instead of taking it as a show business,” he said.

The job does have more to offer. Wang just finished commentating the World Cup in his hometown dialect – Nanjing Dialect. Nanjing is the provisional capital of Jiangsu Province with a population of more than eight million people. Although the target audience was limited in the specific region, Wang said he found this new attempt both fun and meaningful. “It was not only about commentating, it also could bring Chinese culture or local culture to the world,” Wang said. “It is like a culture-spreading job.”

This year is only his fourth working but Wang’s passion for sports commentary had developed since high school after being a guest commentator. He then took it as a bobby. However, it was not until he attended college and had practical experience that he realized that sports commentary meant career to him.

“You have to be both specific and professional at the same time so it is a hard job,” Wang said. Being professional meant he had to get familiar with relatively unpopular sports such as judo and tennis. To host track cycling disciplines  during the Olympics of 2008, he spent more than one month mastering the rules from a thick book and consulted other experienced commentators.

Wang, 26, developed his own style after watching other colleagues doing the job. He described his style as introducing more details beyond newspapers after full preparation. He spends time with athletes to figure out what is new in the field. He becomes friends with the players to know their lives. Those preparations enable him to reveal more details. “You have to spend a lot of time with them actually, not only with your computer,” he said. “This is what usually ignored by others.”

Wang has a passion for becoming an NBA commentator. However, with the limitation of copyrights, his channel no longer has the right to broadcast the games. He considered his skill of English and broadcasting gained at college very suitable for NBA commentary. “It will be like a dream coming true if we have the copyright again,” he said.

Transcription:

Q: What have you been doing lately in your job?

A: I just finished a commentating job for Tencent Sports. The job is about the FIFA World Cup 2014. My job was to commentate the games in my hometown dialect - Nanjing Dialect. This was very fun.


Q: What is the reflection of the audience?

A: Actually there were not so many audience for my dialect. Nanjing Dialect is not very popular in China. Sichuan Dialect is much more popular. My friends and colleagues around me who have been listening to my commentary said it was fun and was a new style of sports commentary. They liked it. They thought that this kind of dialect commentary could be more popular in the future.


Q: How do you think of its future?

A: I think Tencent Sports is very thoughtful to put me in this position. This job was fun. It was not only about commentating, it also could bring Chinese culture or local culture to the world. It is very meaningful. It is like a culture-spreading job.



Q: How many audience do you have for your commentary?

A: There were about 1,000 or more every single game. It was the first time for us to take the chance. I think this is good. The only way to listen is from app using the cell phone. Maybe in the future we can put it online and there will be more spectators.



Q: I have learned that your father is a sports commentator. Can you tell me more about the influence he has on you during your growth?

A: Sure. When I was a little kid, he was one of the earliest Chinese sports commentators. I listened to him from a very young age. He told me that sports commentary is not a show business. So many people in China think TV programs should be entertaining. I don't agree. More importantly, TV sports commentator has to be like a tourist guide. You have to introduce game details and strategy to the audience instead of taking it as a show business. You are not a part of the show but a tourist guide to introduce the show. There are so many differences.


Q: When did you decide that you want to be a sports commentator?

A: My journey started in my senior school. Incidentally, I had the opportunity to take place of another commentator. There was a chance for me to be a guest commentator. This was the first time I knew how it worked. I thought it was fun and took it as hobby. When I graduated from a relative major, I stepped on my journey. I found it was not that simple. It was not a just hobby or interest but a career. You have to be both specific and professional at the same time so it is a hard job. You have to learn the game strategy yourself. You must learn other than popular sports like table tennis, table pool, tennis, judo. You have to be more than part of the audience. You have to be part of the game. You have to know the players well. You have to be friends with the players.It is not only paperwork.


Q: How do you manage to learn those sports you were not familiar before?

A: At beginning, I just imitated. I watched other sports commentators do their job. I just watched and learned. I did not have my own style first. After doing like 100 hundred games, I developed my own style. it is a long journey.


Q: How do you describe your own style?

A: For example, before CBA(China Basketball Association) season begins , I take two months in summer to get closer to the players and coaches, to know what they have been doing. Are there any new players or old players leaving? Or to find if there is a new coach,which happens at all the time. You have to be closer to them to know what they have been doing. Sometimes you have to be friends with them to know their life. You have to spend a lot of time with them actually. Not only with your computer. This is what usually ignored by others. My style would be like getting close to them and introduce more details beyond newspapers.


Q: You mean you have more personal experience with them and can share more details?

A: Yes. One of my most valuable experience is in Beijing Olympics 2008. I was the Chinese commentator in the arena of Laoshan Bicycle Velodrome, the track bicycle game. People rode bicycles in the velodrome. I did not know much of the sports. This was hard for me. There was a very big book about the rules. I spent about one month or more to learn. I talked to other commentator from UCI(Union Cycling International) and he taught me a lot. So I can introduce the game to Chinese fans who were not familiar with the sports either.


Q: You have majored in broadcasting and anchoring in broadcasting and anchoring in college which is pretty related to your job. What kind of help have you gained form the major?

A: I studied in Communication University of China, which is the most professional and popular media university in China. My major is English Broadcasting & Anchoring which helped me a lot. First of all is English. After graduating I have not been using it frequently. I have to watch English news, books or online materials to maintain my English. Secondly, it helped me with the skill of hosting and broadcasting. That is the fundamental thing to be a TV host. You have to be a host more than a commentator. You have to have the fundamental broadcasting skill. You have to know how to face the camera, the procedure and the schedule. Only after that can you ba a commentator and deliver your own opinions. My college taught me English and the fundamental things to be professional. These are the two things that influence me most.


Q: What is your long-term goal in your career.

A: I really would like to be an NBA commentator. Unfortunately, we can only watch NBA on CCTV5(a sports channel belongs to the state run media) in China because of the copyright. It is like a dream. When I first came to my channel, we had the copyright but now we don’t. It will be like a dream coming true if we have the copyright again. My skill includes both English and TV broadcasting, so I think NBA fit my professional skill. I would put more passion for it to realize.