Where to get more commentary for matches involving Brits

GBJ · Club Coach

Where to get more commentary for matches involving Brits

GBJ · Club Coach

RE: Catch-up commentaries for lower tier events

GBJ · Club Coach

RE: Where to get more commentary for matches involving Brits

GBJ · Club Coach

If people posted commentaries on this site of a match you were interested in would you listen to it or just follow the match in other ways? Why/why not?

If you would listen, would you bother to try to syncronize it with the replay/catch-up of the livestream or not? Why/why not?

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

GBJ, just for me, I very rarely watch matches on replay/catch-up and I don;t think having a commentary would make much difference.

(I sometimes watch a couple of games, or a youtube highlight 10 mins, or the very end or something, but hardly ever more than ten minutes of a match that's finished).

So, as a user, I wouldn't have a great deal of use for extra commentary.

And I think I'd be too self-conscious to actually do a commentary - I'd feel a bit of a plonker, to be honest.

Sorry not to be more positive - it's only my personal feedback - and I wish you the best with it, especially if there's a demand.

indiana · Tennis legend

Certainly if watching on catch-up I wouldn't be particularly bothered about no commentary since I can see what's happening so no need for descriptive point by point commentary. I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to synchanise such added on commentary with the action.

Even live, I can well live without point by point commentary. Some pro commentators like Jim Courier do certainly enhance the experience with their nuggets of additional info, though many others are at best neutral for me. From an anateur level, unless done really extremely well, to be honest I suspect I'd prefer just to watch with no commentary.

If not watching at all, I am doubtful that I would seek out such a service.

To be honest, I am far from convinced of this as a great add-on for others in general, though may be interesting / fun to do and so why not if a significant audience is not the be all.

All the best.

-- Edited by indiana on Thursday 8th of October 2015 07:33:15 PM

GBJ · Club Coach

Ta CD! I guess that you're probably in the majority there on both points.

I tend to watch the completed matches on livestream once they have finished quite often if there is a match I'd really like to see cos it's rare that the the matches are on when am free to watch them (plus I dont have a TV licence for other reasons so I cant anyway). I work shifts so I have the time free with no-one else around sometimes that allows me to catch up. I do tend to skip ahead often but that leads to working out the winner based on how long is left which sucks. If there's commentary I can just leave it on in the background and watch when it gets to important points.

Re. feeling like a plonker I think I would too, plus I think most find it pretty awful hearing recordings of their own voice when not used to it, but then again its good to overcome such things. Plus there are plenty like yourself on here who clearly know what you are talking about and whose opinions I enjoy listening to so it would be nice to hear them whilst watching rather than having to skip to another screen and read it

GBJ · Club Coach

Thanks for you comments too Indy.

I don't know whether I'll get round to giving this a go/pluck up the courage etc. or not. In a lot of ways it seems kind of arrogant of me to think that people would want to listen to me ramble through a match but given I know I'd sometimes appreciate if other's did it I might just push myself and risk it at some point and see if anyone listens. I'd just have to hope to avoid being likened to Andrew Castle I guess :)

steven · Tennis legend

If you'd appreciate it if others did it, then I don't think it's arrogant to do it yourself and imagine that someone else might want to listen.

Ken Thomas (Radio Tennis) started off like this, albeit from a DIY 'booth' when he was at the actual events. He was absolute rubbish at first (though very likeable, partly because he was rubbish!) and isn't that much better now (though he has improved), but it was better than just following live scores when matches weren't streamed and now he gets sponsored and invited to commentate on events all over the US.

I know you're not aiming at anything like that, but what I mean is, don't let fear of a lack of talent stop you - you might be (or become) quite good at it anyway and if you're halfway decent and providing a service people want and can't get elsewhere, you might well get some listeners.

Unlike Ken, you'd obviously only be commentating on matches for which a livestream was available but there are times when I haven't watched a match and it looks like it might have been interesting, I'd rather listen to it and be able to do other things at the same time than go back to a recording of the live stream and have to give it my full attention throughout.