Although he was a gamer in high school, Sam Newberry didn’t see a correlation between playing video games and finding a job. He wasn’t even thinking about going to college until he came up to Moscow from his home in California.
Newberry, a senior in broadcasting and digital media, is now looking toward a career in broadcasting thanks in part to his experience with shoutcasting for the Vandal Esports team.
“I was not much of a sports guy,” he said. “I don’t watch a lot of sports on TV. I grew up around video games and then got the chance to do broadcasting for the esports team at U of I. Turns out I absolutely love it.”
The Vandal Esports program has over 100 players competing in over 20 varsity and JV contests every week, and every match is streamed — complete with two broadcasters to describe the action.
“Shoutcasting is a huge part of the Vandal Esports program,” said Wayne Ebenroth, program director. “We’ve had esports players come to U of I specifically because they learned about us by watching and hearing about us online. And the experience the shoutcasters get with the team is the best thing they can do to prepare for broadcasting jobs once they graduate.”
Shout it out loud
Shoutcasting in esports is roughly the equivalent to broadcasting in football or basketball. The commentating and technical skill sets are the same — it’s the level of excitement, the hype the announcers bring and instant fan feedback that makes shoutcasting more specific to the gaming arena.
“I think esports has its own style,” said Wyatt Curl, a junior in virtual technology and design from Olympia, Washington. “It’s really important to know the game you are casting, because there’s so much going on.”
Not only is there a lot going on, but each game has its own unique language. When Curl shoutcasts for Rainbow Six Siege, a game he has played for 10 years, he’s able to describe the action to an audience that wants to hear him use that specific language.
“Things like knowing what an ace is or knowing what a ninja diffuse is and being able to describe it as it happens,” said Curl. “It’s non-stop action and our viewers expect us to bring the energy they are feeling."
It’s easy for shoutcasters to see the energy the viewers are feeling — they see what the viewer sees in front of them on their monitor. Shoutcasters can also see live message boards where viewers can make real-time comments about what they just saw, drop in memes about gaming and generally celebrate their community.
Following comment traffic on the board also keeps the shoutcasters focused on their job.
“They help us show energy, show tension and show excitement about what they just saw,” Curl said. “And we need to show that in our comments. If we put a bunch of energy into the wrong thing, the viewer goes ‘Wait, what, why did he just say that?’ The focus needs to be on the game, not on us.”
Shoutcasting is a huge part of the Vandal Esports program. We’ve had Esports players come to U of I specifically because they learned about us by watching and hearing about us online.
Wayne Ebenroth
Esports program director
Similar to a football sportscast, an esports shoutcast crew usually consists of two commentators — one who handles play-by-play and a color commentator, who will accentuate the excitement, or lack thereof, of what just happened.
And because shoutcasters are well-versed in the game they are broadcasting, they share the highs and lows they experience with the teams they work with.
“My biggest highlight was getting to cast the championship game the League of Legends team won last December,” said Newberry, about the popular multi-player fantasy game. “It was such a fun journey to see them go from being a middle-of-the-pack team that barely made the playoffs to beating the top-ranked team in the first round and bringing home the championship.”
Casting a wider net
The Vandal Esports program competes in several conferences, including the Big Sky Conference. Moving over to the more traditional sports in that conference, Curl and Newberry have used their experience in shoutcasting to land roles with University of Idaho Athletics.
Both have been working with ESPN+, a streaming service that features Vandal sports like football, basketball and soccer. And although their shoutcasting experience has come in front of the camera, the bulk of their work with ESPN+ has been behind the scenes.
Curl has run the camera for Vandal football games, set up replay operations for men’s basketball games and gotten involved in creating graphics for the broadcasts.
Newberry, who worked mainly behind the camera doing replay work for ESPN+, is interested in finding a job in either sports or news broadcasting.
“I would absolutely love to work with a professional team, probably in the NBA,” he said. “I’d also love to do news broadcasting, too. In front of the camera, behind the camera — just throw me out there and I’ll figure it out.”
In addition to figuring out what they want to do after graduation, Curl and Newberry are grateful to have gotten shoutcasting experience, which has helped them develop the skills they need to build their career.
“It’s hard to get experience actually broadcasting while you’re still in college,” Curl said. “Doing shoutcasting for the Esports program has not only been really fun, but it provides that experience. Working here and building my portfolio has been really helpful."
Something to shout about
Go behind the scenes of esports broadcasting at University of Idaho and discover how students are helping bring competitive gaming to life. In this video, U of I students Wyatt Curl and Sam Newberry share their experience as shoutcasters, providing live commentary, analysis and play-by-play coverage for esports competitions. Similar to traditional sports broadcasters, shoutcasters help audiences understand the action, follow game strategy and stay engaged throughout a match.