Abstract

Live text commentaries, published on the Internet, are written narratives that give a minute-by-minute account of a sports event while it is actually unfolding. Alternative terms that have been suggested for them are “event tracker”, “live ticker”, “minute-by-minute report”, or “matchcast”. They come in very different shapes and forms, and while they share some properties with unscripted radio sports commentaries, they have their own specific features. The textual account of the events on the field is very often accompanied by background information on the contestants, lists, statistics, pictures and diagrams. But live text commentaries also share many features with personal narratives. However, in contrast to personal narratives and to unscripted radio commentaries, live text commentaries are not ephemeral. Each new update, reporting the most recent state of the events on the field, also provides a step-by-step overview of what has already happened.