the.com/broadcast booth
A glass box where grown men argue about a fumble for three replays.
means A raised, enclosed booth at a stadium or arena from which commentators call the game live for TV or radio audiences.
from A straightforward compound: 'broadcast' (originally a farming term for scattering seed widely by hand, repurposed in the early 20th century for scattering radio signals just as widely) plus 'booth' (a small enclosed stall, from Old Norse 'buð,' a temporary dwelling). Once radio and then TV needed a soundproof perch above the action, the two words snapped together naturally.
- origin
- Radio booths predate TV by decades
- color commentary
- Named for adding vivid, non-play-by-play detail
- soundproofing
- Needed so crowd noise does not drown analysis
- crew size
- Often hides a dozen off-camera producers below