How Sound Became Sport’s Secret Weapon

Above: Charlie Cooper

I was watching the mighty Foxes (Leicester City F.C.) recently-ish, on one of those weekends where Amazon have got the rights for that week’s Premier League action. I was giving it a bit of welly on the tele and it struck me how it sounded slightly different to other broadcasters and it got me thinking how incredibly immersive the sound in sport has become nowadays.

I’m using football as an example here (which obviously has an insane amount money behind it) but every single shot, save, squeal from a dive or 50/50 tackle is so clear and punchy, that it really does make you feel like you’re hearing or almost feeling the action, up close and personal. Home and away fans are disproportionately amped up to deliver a consistently loud atmosphere throughout the whole game, in both large and small stadiums. You can hear individual fans from each side of the stadium and managers screaming tactics from the touchline. You really do get the lot. And it’s not just Amazon. Sky Sports slogan ‘feel it all’ tells you everything about their stance on enhancing the entire experience. And when some of this is missing, it’s very noticeable.

The broadcasters use a clever mixture of microphones and techniques to capture separate elements of the match. Lots of directional (often shotgun) mics are placed strategically to pick up individual areas of the game and parabolic mics (which are able to reflect unwanted outside sound) are manually operated and used to hone in on precise points. As well as pressure zone mics for contact areas like the goal.

As a fan, the amplified sound definitely heightens my emotional response. Subconsciously, hearing the ball hit the post louder makes it feel closer to going in, hearing the net ripple for a goal makes the strike feel sweeter and hearing the manager screaming instructions makes it feel like they care more.

This high level of immersion in live sport is now the norm and the mindset in all areas of sport content creation has inevitably shifted. There’s never been more sports advertising and content needs to fight harder than ever to grab the audience’s attention. This expectation has moulded how I approach these types of spots, with the mix needing to sound immersive, mega impactful and super slick!

Not everyone is hugely mad on all the added theatrics and I do think it can sometimes veer into the comical but it’s here to stay and is only going to continue to evolve. From a sound perspective though, I absolutely love it, appreciate it and long may it continue.