US commentators | Golden Skate

US commentators

Manitou

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
This is my first post on this forum and I am sorry if this was already discussed, but I did't see Tanith Belbin among the US commentators. Is this true? if so, why was she not included? By far she is the most interesting and informative dance commentator I know, she has also an incredible charm and charisma, and I simply don't understand the decision. Does anybody know any background to this story? I know she was hoping to go there. Who is going to comment the dance? I hope it's not Hamilton, not even mention Hammond...
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
I thought she was on the list for Universal Sports?

My guess as to why not is they may feel it's a conflict of interest considering who she's connected with (Charlie White). She's good at disclosing and trying to stay as neutral as possible, but I wouldn't want to have to be neutral on the nights he's competing at the Olys if I was her.

I'm just trying to figure out how they expect to use all the voices they have for the team... I really hope it's not like it was in 2006 where they pack them in. Too many voices.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
This is my first post on this forum and I am sorry if this was already discussed, but I did't see Tanith Belbin among the US commentators. Is this true? if so, why was she not included? By far she is the most interesting and informative dance commentator I know, she has also an incredible charm and charisma, and I simply don't understand the decision. Does anybody know any background to this story? I know she was hoping to go there. Who is going to comment the dance? I hope it's not Hamilton, not even mention Hammond...

I thought she was on the list for Universal Sports?

My guess as to why not is they may feel it's a conflict of interest considering who she's connected with (Charlie White). She's good at disclosing and trying to stay as neutral as possible, but I wouldn't want to have to be neutral on the nights he's competing at the Olys if I was her.

I'm just trying to figure out how they expect to use all the voices they have for the team... I really hope it's not like it was in 2006 where they pack them in. Too many voices.

Belbin will be working for the NBC family (but not the broadcast network) in another capacity. AFAIK, she will not be commenting on ice dance. (And I wholeheartedly agree that she should absolutely not be commenting on ice dance b/c of her conflict of interest.)

Belbin's NBC role was announced months ago -- in Sep or Oct. It was in the same press release as the announcement of Weir's and Lipinski's roles as analysts -- and the press release link is in one or more GS threads about Weir and Lipinski.

Regarding the large number of NBC voices:
Not sure whether it has gone under the radar that NBC more recently added Kerrigan as another Sochi analyst. I posted about it in the Kerrigan/Harding documentary thread.
Although NBC did not acknowledge a quid pro quo that Kerrigan is being given the on-air role and in turn is giving NBC an exclusive interview re the Kerrigan/Harding troubles of the past, doesn't take a genius to notice the connection.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
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Jun 27, 2003
yeah I remembered Kerrigan being named...

too many voices! too, too many!
 

Manitou

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
Why is being connected to Charlie an argument against her commenting the dance? Because she will be bias? As a matter of fact, I do expect the US commenators to be bias towards the US team. Am I right?
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
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Feb 27, 2012
Why is being connected to Charlie an argument against her commenting the dance? Because she will be bias? As a matter of fact, I do expect the US commenators to be bias towards the US team. Am I right?

Going back to your original question about Belbin, the link to the press release about her NBC role in Sochi is in this post:

A subtitle of the Oct 23 press release is:
Belbin to Report for NBC Olympics’ Sports Desk & The Olympic Zone

I think the good news for Belbin is that she will gain additional on-air experience unrelated to skating. (I believe that she had a similar role in NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics in London.)​

As for her conflict of interest re ice dance:
White is not just any ol' member of Team USA. The rivalry of Virtue/Moir (of Canada, obviously) and Davis/White is one of skating's most epic -- and will be a major story line in Sochi, at least for those watching skating.​
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
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Jun 27, 2003
Yes NBC will be PRO USA, which is understandable. However, it's considered "bad journalism" to at the very least not disclose one's relationship to the subject.

Besides D/W are not the only US couple going to be competing. Not that they will be in danger of losing to the other two teams, but still...

And it could very well be that Tanith would rather be there to support Charlie and NOT commentate that moment.
 

ray94611

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
I don't get her being involved with Charlie White impacting her ability to commentate fairly - it's not like she's deciding who gets a defense contract! And if you've listened to her expert - and I mean expert - commentary on Universal Sports you would know that she has already publicly disclosed her relationship. People do this all the time. I recall a recent incident where a commentator coached or choreographed a skater that was competing. And just because their relationship is public, do you think it's the only one? I'm sorry, I'd rather hear Tanith Belbin squeal with glee when he wins than any of the dried up old folks they have in the booth today!
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
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I don't get her being involved with Charlie White impacting her ability to commentate fairly - it's not like she's deciding who gets a defense contract! And if you've listened to her expert - and I mean expert - commentary on Universal Sports you would know that she has already publicly disclosed her relationship. People do this all the time. I recall a recent incident where a commentator coached or choreographed a skater that was competing. And just because their relationship is public, do you think it's the only one? I'm sorry, I'd rather hear Tanith Belbin squeal with glee when he wins than any of the dried up old folks they have in the booth today!

I have said it before, and I will say it again. Belbin and White have the most intimate human relationship of any kind.
A longtime coach and/or choreographer might feel a strong personal bond to her/his skater, but it simply does not rise to the level of the one btwn Belbin and White. If Belbin and White are like any other committed and loyal couple, they share certain thoughts and confidences btwn themselves that literally no one else on the planet could know.

I do not think that Belbin goes out of her way to be unfair, but here is a (paraphrased) example of her unintentionally biased (IMHO) commentary from a previous season:
She said something like, "When Tessa and Scott skate their program, they create a moment between themselves." That might have seemed like a neutral comment, UNTIL she immediately added in a much more approving tone of voice, "Meryl and Charlie's program is far more accessible to the audience." (She was referring to Die Fledermaus, IIRC.)
Now it is possible that some people in the audience would have agreed with Belbin. But some would NOT have agreed. I did not.

How the heck could Belbin -- no matter how hard she tries -- be in a position to make an objective judgment whether Charlie's program is "far more accessible," for crying out loud???
Charlie had been living and breathing the program day after day since it was choreographed, and because Belbin lives with him, she too had been living with the program basically every single day. She is only human -- and I do not think any human being in her shoes could have transcended her close attachment to the program and said those words with true objectivity.

I have not seen Belbin's ice dance commentary for a couple of years. But when I used to have access to Universal Sports and could see her occasionally on that channel, the producers would bury the disclosure of her relationship with Charlie White as much as possible -- if it was even mentioned at all. Instead of having an on-air colleague say in a forthright and professional manner something like, "We should note up front that you have a personal relationship with Charlie White," the anchor next to her would weave an indirect mention into a joking reference, such as: "You'll have to get Charlie White's two cents when you see him at home .. ha, ha, ha."
Plus ... sometimes an entire block of ice dance coverage would go by with NO mention, direct or otherwise, of the Belbin/White relationship. If she and her employers have done a better job lately of providing disclosures consistently and openly, that is good news.

After Charlie White retires, Belbin's ice dance commentary will become a lot more credible to me. Until then, I prefer my analysts to come with as little conflict of interest as possible. YMMV.
In hard-news journalism, spouses and life partners whose specialized knowledge of a certain field is rare (as is Belbin's) RECUSE themselves all the time.
 

Manitou

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
^ I have absolutely no problem with Belbin's "conflict of interest". I want the commentator to be very knowledgeable, informative, speak the right amount, not too much, not too little and be very interesting. Other than that I don't care if she's all over Charlie. I am fine with that. It even adds some interesting flavor to her commentary and I like it.
I don't want any boring, unbiased, impartial and unemotional commentator. That's the worst kind.
 

TontoK

Hot Tonto
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Jan 28, 2013
Country
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I'd take an on-the-record biased Tanith over Scott Hamilton any day.

Particularly concerning dance commentary.
 

Memelah711

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Please forgive my ignorance... Haven't Tanith and Charlie been dating for quite some time now? I remember seeing interviews around Vancouver that they were dating and even living together. Again, please forgive me if I'm wrong.

For me personally, when my husband is involved, I cannot be neutral. If my husband and I were ice dancers and he was competing at the Olympics and I was commentating, I still could not be neutral.

I would rather have a biased Tanith commentating, for any skating discipline. I would take just about anybody over Scott and Sandra. During the Grand Prix, I was so happy to hear Johnny and Tara commentating. I was very sad when I watched Nationals to find Scott and Sandra in the commentators booth. To me, Scott and Sandra have always been grossly biased towards the Americans and of course their own personal favorites.
 

Manitou

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
Speaking of Scott, I'd prefer even Sharapova commentating figure skating. She is going to Sochi with NBC.
Seriously, who is going to do live event commentating? I thought it's going to be Tara and Johnny. Don't tell me it's Scott and Sandra....
 

breathesgelatin

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 12, 2013
I think Hammond/Scott/Sandra are slated for the coverage on NBC. On NBC Sports cable network, I think we'll see them try some different things, using Johnny, Tara, Tanith, etc. I think we may see Tara, Johnny, and Tanith used as we saw them at US Nationals, in the venue as a panel giving information about what's happening on the ground.

Incidentally, Tom Hammond is getting close to retirement - this has been in the news.
 

Jammers

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Speaking of Scott, I'd prefer even Sharapova commentating figure skating. She is going to Sochi with NBC.
Seriously, who is going to do live event commentating? I thought it's going to be Tara and Johnny. Don't tell me it's Scott and Sandra....

Tara and Johnny will do the commenting on NBCSN and Scott and Sandra will be on NBC.
 

Procrastinator

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Who commented during vancouver? I recall a single woman along with Hammond but scott wasn't there and she didn't sound like Sandra. At any rate, I didn't like her. There was no excitement and she was relatively quiet.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
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Feb 27, 2012
Tara and Johnny will do the commenting on NBCSN and Scott and Sandra will be on NBC.

Yes. Excerpts from NBC's press release (Jan 14) re its entire on-air team:

FIGURE SKATING: Tom Hammond, working his 11th Olympics, will be the figure skating play-by-play commentator on NBC. Scott Hamilton, Olympic gold medalist and member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, returns as an analyst for his sixth Olympic broadcast assignment. Working alongside Hamilton on NBC are analysts Sandra Bezic, a 1972 Olympian and five-time Canadian pairs champion, and Tracy Wilson, who was part of the first Canadian ice dance duo to earn an Olympic medal in 1988. Andrea Joyce, who returns for her eighth Olympic assignment with NBC, will serve as a figure skating and short track speed skating reporter.

Terry Gannon, who calls figure skating, college basketball and golf for NBC and events on Golf Channel, will handle figure skating play-by-play on NBCSN alongside analysts Johnny Weir, a two-time Olympian and three-time U.S. champion, and Tara Lipinski, the 1998 Olympic gold medalist.

Nancy Kerrigan, a two-time Olympic medalist, will serve as a figure skating commentator for NBC Olympics’ multi-platform coverage, including on NBC and NBCSN. In addition, she will appear on numerous NBCUniversal shows and properties including TODAY, Access Hollywood and E!

~~~~~~

SPORTSDESK REPORTERS: NBC Olympics’ sportsdesk reporters will provide insights and news and contribute to The Olympic Zone – a 30-minute nightly show that airs on NBC affiliates. The reporters, all based in Sochi, include: Olympic silver medalist Tanith Belbin ...

~~~~~~~

OLYMPIC ICE: Olympic Ice, a studio show available on NBCOlympics.com and NBC Sports Live Extra, will offer verified viewers a comprehensive review of all the figure skating news and highlights taking place each day during the Sochi Games. It will air at 5:30 p.m. ET on most days, from February 7-21. Russ Thaler will host the 30-minute show, and will be joined by analyst and 2002 Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Sarah Hughes.

... Gold Zone, Olympic Ice and Olympic Desk Updates will all be produced at NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn.

Who commented during vancouver? I recall a single woman along with Hammond but scott wasn't there and she didn't sound like Sandra. At any rate, I didn't like her. There was no excitement and she was relatively quiet.

If you are referring to ice dance in Vancouver, Tracy Wilson (see above) provided commentary for NBC.

Please forgive my ignorance... Haven't Tanith and Charlie been dating for quite some time now? I remember seeing interviews around Vancouver that they were dating and even living together. Again, please forgive me if I'm wrong.

For me personally, when my husband is involved, I cannot be neutral. If my husband and I were ice dancers and he was competing at the Olympics and I was commentating, I still could not be neutral.

I would rather have a biased Tanith commentating, for any skating discipline. I would take just about anybody over Scott and Sandra. During the Grand Prix, I was so happy to hear Johnny and Tara commentating. I was very sad when I watched Nationals to find Scott and Sandra in the commentators booth. To me, Scott and Sandra have always been grossly biased towards the Americans and of course their own personal favorites.

Yes, Belbin and White have been living together for a few years now.
Thanks for your candor re the impossibility of neutrality regarding your husband. :) He is a lucky man!
 

Manitou

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
There was no excitement and she was relatively quiet.

Sounds like Dorothy Hamill to me... :)
Talking about excitement, there must a balance between boredom and over excitement. Scott is on the other side of the spectrum with his really irritating overly childish excitement and exaggerated positivity.
The perfect balance is Tanith and Johnny. Can't think of better commentators.
 
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