Books
Move Up: Uncommon advice to advance your sportscasting career
Practical perspective on what actually helps sportscasters stand out, get hired, and keep moving forward. Written by STAA Owner Jon Chelesnik.
The Art of Sportscasting
An industry classic about how to succeed in sports broadcasting. Includes first person advice from highly successful voices in sports broadcasting—everything from performance to the job market.
Additional Books for Sports Broadcasters
Seven more books that we highly recommend.
Career Advice
Sportscasting Summit
Q&A video sessions with Jim Nantz, Beth Mowins, Kevin Harlan, Chuck Swirsky, Tracy Wolfson, Ian Eagle, Bob Costas, Kevin Kugler, and Pat Hughes.
STAA TV
Gain insight on how to build your own sportscasting career with these interviews featuring industry professionals.
Equipment
Headsets
Senheiser HMD-26
The industry standard for headsets is Sennheisers. If you watch any NFL on TV, most of them are still using HMD-25s, which are not made any more. The HMD-26 is the new version. It is pricey (~$450) but they sound great.
Audio Technica BPHS1
This broadcast stereo headset is especially recommended. Pro quality for a great price. If you’re looking for value, you won’t find another headset that’s as good in terms of quality for that price. I’ve also seen them pop up here and there on higher-level broadcasts.
Microphones
Senheiser 421
The best, but pricey. Used by a number of MLB clubs, including Atlanta.
Shure’s VP-64
An outstanding hand mic.
Mixers
Behringer XENYX Q802USB
A four pot mixer that is used by multiple STAA clients.
Behringer 1202
Another mixer with four pre-amps — enough for three broadcasters and a crowd mic.
Peavey PV6 USB
Popular in minor league baseball.
PostcastStudio USB
A very good setup for podcasters. Has a great mic and a mixer.
Recorders
TASCAM DR-05
Battery life is excellent, and at $100 it’s worth the money.
ZOOM H1
Easy to download audio for editing. Connects to your computer via USB cable.
Internet Streaming Hosts
Audio Sports Online
Especially popular among sportscasters doing high school and small college play-by-play on the Internet. It isn’t free, but it’s affordable and the audio quality and customer service are outstanding.
MixLR
A very popular free online streaming service in some junior hockey leagues without annoying ads in mid-broadcast. On the flip side, you only get so many free hours of it and then you either have to erase files or buy premium.
Live Steam
Again, great for play-by-play. And it’s ad free.
UStream
Great for Internet play-by-play. They provide HD streaming video, to all devices. It’s free if you don’t mind the occasional ad popping up in your broadcast. Otherwise, plans with no ads start at $99 per month. Shoot, that’s only $25 per game if you are doing high school football every Friday night.
Spreaker
If you want to polish your sports talk show hosting skills but aren’t currently on the air, Spreaker is a great alternative. They’ll help you create and host your podcast.
StreamYard
This one was recommended to us. StreamYard is a live streaming studio in your browser. Good for interview guests then streaming directly to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other platforms.
Play-By-Play Broadcasting
Spot Charts & Stat Sheets
Deliver a more organized, higher quality broadcast these various spotting charts, stat sheets, thesauruses and the famous STAA Play-by-Play Pyramid.
Podcasting Hosts
LibSyn
It’s inexpensive and they don’t charge for bandwidth. They charge only for storage and it costs as little as $5 per month. It will also submit your podcast to iTunes.
Soundcloud
A great free storage option but doesn’t have a lot of features.
Sports Talk Shows
Free Downloads
Develop content that your listeners can’t get anywhere else with the Topic Tree and the STAA Sports Talk Pyramid.
Prep Links
Instantly improve the content of your show with these websites that are used by the industry’s most successful hosts.