Ryan Bradley on the Olympic Channel

ray94611 · Oct 21, 2017

Does anyone know if we are going to have to listen to Ryan Bradley all season long? If I hear him comment how a skater needs to "be in the conversation" one more time I'm going to scream! "The Russian ladies are stacked"! He seems limited to commenting on the jumps - EVERY jump - and always the same comments. I don't think he's commented on a performance or a spin or anything, really, besides the jumping - which he does well and it's helpful, but he's boring and he talks too much. It's just lucky that Andrea Joyce does such a great job as color commentator. And there are so many other great options. John Cougliln and Tanya Kwiatkowski come to mind. There are many more. If they would just rotate it would help.
Am I the only one?

centerpt1 · Oct 21, 2017

Ryan is better than Johnny as a commentator..... but he does repeat over and over meaningless comments. I think he means to say nice things about all the skaters, but sometimes there's just nothing exciting about them to say.

ice coverage · Oct 21, 2017

Based on past viewing, I prefer Ryan over any of the others mentioned in the thread.

(I have not seen the current Rostelecom coverage.)

ETA: Coughlin also does a good job.

ray94611 said:
... It's just lucky that Andrea Joyce does such a great job as color commentator. ...

I never feel lucky when she is involved in a skating broadcast. #WeakLink

noskates · Oct 21, 2017

Ryan is annoying in that he speaks in such a monotonous and measured tone but he's WORLDS better than Peter Carruthers who never finished a thought or a sentence and was so out-of-date with all his comments. I do like Johnny. I think he knows what he's talking about and it's always interesting to hear why a skater wasn't able to complete a jump or whatever. . I nearly gag every time Tara opens her mouth though. And the more years she does this the more she talks.

Charlie White did a good job calling the dance. And he didn't talk non-stop.

I'm not sure why Andrea Joyce is commenting on the competitions as they occur. Didn't she just interview skaters afterwards? Are they that hard up for commentators?

NanaPat · Oct 21, 2017

I really like it when they rotate commentators. Even the best commentators tend to get repetitious. If I listen to one commentator too much, I can predict exactly what remark they are about to make in many circumstances.

That's not to say there aren't good and bad commentators, and talking too much during a performance is a major no-no for me. Especially when they talk about things that are only peripherally related to what is going on on the ice, like the skater's coaching arrangement, or their own past experiences (her's looking at you, Tara!).

evasorange · Oct 21, 2017

anytime i don't have to put up with johnny and tara and their babysitter terry is a good time for me. faint praise for ryan and andrea lol but they are better then tara and johnny imo. last year nbc sports had tanith and ryan commentating together and that was about the best american commentating i heard that season. it wasn't anything amazing but when the nbc standard is tara terry and johnny....

demarinis5 · Oct 21, 2017

Well I am glad I don't get the Olympic Channel. I guess I was under the impression that the competitions would be commentary free.
Are there commercials too?

Ic3Rabbit · Oct 21, 2017

ray94611 said:
Does anyone know if we are going to have to listen to Ryan Bradley all season long? If I hear him comment how a skater needs to "be in the conversation" one more time I'm going to scream! "The Russian ladies are stacked"! He seems limited to commenting on the jumps - EVERY jump - and always the same comments. I don't think he's commented on a performance or a spin or anything, really, besides the jumping - which he does well and it's helpful, but he's boring and he talks too much. It's just lucky that Andrea Joyce does such a great job as color commentator. And there are so many other great options. John Cougliln and Tanya Kwiatkowski come to mind. There are many more. If they would just rotate it would help.
Am I the only one?

I have to sit here and seriously LOL at this post. :rolleye:

Really?!! Ryan is one of the best commentators out there right now. Charlie White, Tanith White, and John Coughlin are also very good. He always calls things straight and to the point and does tend to say nice things about the skaters (or tries to at least). No his comments are not all about the jumps, he has commented on so many other great spins, footwork, etc in programs.

The fact that you stated that you would rather hear Andrea Joyce (who is the one that won't shut up in the broadcast), or someone like Tonia Kwaiatkowski is what makes me laugh and shake my head. Tonia is one of the WORST commentators next to Tara and Johnny's hot mess fest. :rolleye:

If you don't like hearing Ryan and crew then I suggest you get IceNetwork or a stream from another country like Russia (Tarasova never stops babbling), or wait until NBC shows their mini version of the competition with Johnny/Tara. Then tell me how annoying Ryan really is after their Mean Girls of Figure Skating Impersonation. :slink:

ray94611 · Oct 21, 2017

Well, I have to agree with the points you made. What he says about the jumps is helpful. And he is better than many other options - all listed above! - but it's painful to listen to. Plus I don't agree about his discussing the other components. It's like he doesn't pay attention to the rest of the performance. I apologize for picking Tonya Kwiatkowski, I just remembered her doing a broadcast some time ago, I was just searching for examples of other options. I'll tell you the best commentary is provided by the guy who does the Jr. Grand Prix on isu.com. He never speaks during the performance and recaps the performance, the technique and the scoring really well AFTER they have skated. He's great. Maybe by the time Johnnie and Tara are chatting on NBC later this year I'll be longing for him to come back - but I doubt it.

Mathman · Oct 21, 2017

I think Ryan is pretty good. (I like Johnny and Tara, too.

)

GF2445 · Oct 21, 2017

Fights to hang on......

Fights to hang on......

Fights to hang on......

Fights to hang on......

temadd · Oct 21, 2017

Not a fan of Ryan. I don't enjoy his voice and he feels the need to comment on everything. SHUT UP and let us enjoy the program. I agree with GF2445 he also needs to expand his vocabulary. It becomes very much the same after 3 skaters.

el henry · Oct 21, 2017

“The JGP Guy”, Ted Barton, is *the* gold standard for skating commentary. Silent during the program, respectful yet technically astute during the replay.

I could listen to Ted do commentary for every single skating comp ever. He would die of exhaustion, but I’d be happy :biggrin:

gravy · Oct 21, 2017

GF2445 said:
Fights to hang on......

Fights to hang on......

Fights to hang on......

Fights to hang on......

ALL. THE. TIME. :dbana:

Ryan is one of the most annoying commentators out there. He has a tendency to inflect his voice up and down when he's commentating as if he's speaking to a 2 year old and it grates my nerves. He's positive but he never says anything of substance and it's just white noise that's actually really loud. I dislike Tara & Johnny as well, but at least they actually have opinions even if I don't agree with them. I like Charlie, Tanith, and Ben in ice dance and John is decent in pairs although he has that same problem that Ryan does with his baby voice. Meh. When I rewatch programs I usually listen to Del Rio on TDP or Grishin on Match. Even British Eurosport has become so stale.

While I agree with @NanaPat in that I like it best when they rotate commentators around because they can get quite predictable, my favorite English duo is Terry Gannon and Tracy Wilson. I'd listen to them all day.

Shandy · Oct 21, 2017

el henry said:
“The JGP Guy”, Ted Barton, is *the* gold standard for skating commentary. Silent during the program, respectful yet technically astute during the replay.

I could listen to Ted do commentary for every single skating comp ever. He would die of exhaustion, but I’d be happy

Oh man, that’s the dream, isn’t it? I feel like I’ve learned so much I wouldn’t otherwise have known to look for based on Ted’s commentating. There were a few times today I thought I knew what he’d say, like “needs to get tighter in the air” or what have you, and I found myself getting weirdly resentful that Ryan was missing these obvious things to comment on.

hikki · Oct 22, 2017

Ryan after Higuchi Wakaba's shocking SP score: "I don't know... She must have lost some levels... perhaps on the footwork... perhaps on a spin or two."
Ok thanks for your... guesses?

So I hear you, ray.

amc987 · Oct 22, 2017

I find Ryan Bradley insufferable to listen to. He provides no insight whatsoever apart from saying which element the skater is performing. And, as others have said, his inflection and unbridled enthusiasm make him sound a bit like a dim fanboy. I had to turn off the ladies' free skate on Olympic Channel last night because his voice made me feel like banging my head against the wall. And the sad part (other than the despair of the viewer who is forced to listen to him commentate) is that, because was a very competitive, international-level skater, he probably has some interesting tidbits about skating or competing on the Grand Prix circuit that would be fun for viewers to hear.

IMO, Johnny is an infinitely better commentator: I'd take him and his shade over Ryan Bradley any day.

ray94611 · Oct 23, 2017

I'm not taking back anything I said about Ryan Bradley, but I just finished watching "Return to Sochi" - Scott Hamilton, Sandra Besic and Tom Hammond. Ryan's better, Johnnie's better, Tara's better, I'm better.

Victura · Oct 23, 2017

gravy said:
He has a tendency to inflect his voice up and down when he's commentating as if he's speaking to a 2 year old and it grates my nerves.

OMG, I came here to say exactly this. I stumbled upon some Olympic Channel YouTube videos and couldn't stand how it sounded like he was talking to elementary school students. The audience doesn't need to be talked down to in that annoying monotonic and measured way. I could barely get through one program without needing to mute and search for another video. John Coughlin sometimes has this same issue. Thing is, both are nice guys who can be very witty, and they certainly don't talk like that in real life. I really wish they'd inject some life into their commentary. And I say this as someone who has very little issue with commentary in general.

karne · Oct 23, 2017

I'd rather Ryan Bradley and his repetitiveness and his occasional get-stuff-wrongness (BRENDAN WAS BORN IN SYDNEY YOU GONNA REMEMBER THIS YEAR?!) than Weir's pathetic, catty, petty...witchiness.

Ryan Bradley on the Olympic Channel

ray94611

centerpt1

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605

noskates

NanaPat

evasorange

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️

ray94611

Mathman

GF2445

temadd

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.

gravy

¿No ven quién soy yo?

Shandy

hikki

amc987

ray94611

Victura

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

Similar threads

Connect with us