Marc Zumoff

Marc Zumoff
Born	Marc Zumoff November 18, 1955 (age 60) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sports commentary career
Team(s)	Philadelphia 76ers Philadelphia Union
Genre(s)	Play-by-Play
Sports	basketball

Marc Zumoff (born November 18, 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American sportscaster who currently calls play-by-play for the Philadelphia 76ers on Comcast SportsNet in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Marc is also the founder of Zumoff Productions, where he serves as a broadcast coach offering personal, comprehensive, accessible coaching and career development for news and sports broadcast performers© including current professionals and aspiring former athletes. He is also the co-author of Total Sportscasting: Performance, Production and Career Development, a college textbook published by Focal Press.

Philadelphia 76ers

Zumoff is in his 20th season as the Sixers television play-by-play announcer, and his 32nd as a part of the 76ers broadcast team. Zumoff, a Philadelphia native, was officially named play-by-play announcer on August 17, 1994 following a 12-year stint as the team’s pre-game/halftime/post-game host. Zumoff has been honored with the Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for best sports play-by-play broadcaster 15 times. As the Sixers play-by-play announcer, Zumoff has worked with six different partners: Steve Mix, Bob Salmi, Ed Pinckney, Eric Snow, Malik Rose, and Alaa Abdelnaby.

Zumoff has guided and developed aspiring broadcasters from across the country, as well as earned the respect of his peers, including Mike Breen, who says, "he is one of the most well-liked, highly respected gentlemen in the business."

He also appears at numerous community events throughout the year on behalf of the team as well as his employer, Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia.

Zumoff Productions, LLC.

Marc is the founder of Zumoff Productions where he offers personal, comprehensive, accessible coaching and career development for news and sports broadcast performers© including current professionals and aspiring former athletes. He originally started the business 10 years ago with two partners, but for the last eight years has been on his own, coaching some 75 clients one-on-one. His lifetime contracts offer clients coaching in the areas of performance, demo production and career development.

Other work

Zumoff has recently been called upon to do play-by-play for NBA-TV and for Turner Sports' coverage of the NBA, Comcast Sportsnet and The Comcast Network's coverage of high school football and college football. He also fills in for the Philadelphia Union MLS doing play by play.

Prior Work

Zumoff attended Temple University in Philadelphia, announcing Owl football and basketball games. He left Temple without graduating, finally getting his undergraduate degree 15 years later. He broke into the business by becoming a radio newsman. His first job was in 1977 at WBUD 1260 am in Trenton, NJ where he did news for $110 a week. Other news stints followed at WTTM Radio in Trenton, NJ. and WHWH Radio in Princeton, NJ. While at WHWH, he also became the voice of Princeton University football and basketball, doing the games while Pete Carril was the head coach and Craig Robinson was a star player. At the same time, Zumoff was doing freelance work at KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia. While working at KYW, one of his best friends to this day, Rob Grossman, left the station to become the public relations director of the Philadelphia Fever of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Grossman got Zumoff a one-game audition to become the team’s play-by-play announcer, an audition he passed with the late Harry Kalas as his color announcer. In 1982, the Fever’s final season, several games were broadcast on the now-defunct PRISM Sports Network. After the team folded, PRISM hired Marc to do movie announcements and in January 1983, hired him to replace Jim Gray as the 76ers pre-game/halftime/post-game host. While holding down that position, Zumoff occasionally filled in with a variety of play-by-play assignments, including the Philadelphia Flyers (filling in for the late Gene Hart and Mike Emrick and the Philadelphia Big 5. Other work during that time included Big East Basketball, the Dad Vail Regatta, Philadelphia Wings Lacrosse, Villanova University football and basketball, the CoreStates BIke Race, and the Devon Horse Show.

Zumoff has also kept his connection in news, including stints as a fill-in host for the news and public affairs show Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane on the local National Public Radio affiliate WHYY-FM.

Other Endeavors

In addition to regular appearances at community functions on behalf of the 76ers and Comcast Sportsnet, Marc also chairs an annual golf outing benefitting Maccabi USA. In the past, Zumoff has hosted the golf outing "Tee Off with Zumoff" benefitting the Pathway School for learning disabled students as well as the Points for Peace 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the Palestra.

Total Sportscasting: Performance, Production and Career Development

Marc has co-authored with Max Negin the college textbook Total Sportscasting: Performance, Production and Career Development. Publisher Focal Press plans to release the book later this year. According to the book’s back cover text: Whether you want to be in front of the camera or behind the scenes, Total Sportscasting gives you the skills you’ll need to become successful in this dynamic industry. This book covers everything from performance and production techniques to all aspects of sportscasting, good broadcast writing techniques, and how best to forge lasting relationships with team personnel. It also delves into the unique issues facing women sportscasters. And when it comes to breaking into the business, Total Sportscasting devotes entire chapters to career development and demo reel production. For important perspective, we’ve also included chapters on the history of sportscasting and attempts to glimpse into its future.

Total Sportscasting is packed with a variety of features for both learning and instructing:

• Complete coverage of every aspect of the sportscast, helping you prepare for any platform—TV, radio, and the web
• Interviews with successful sports journalists, producers, and directors who give you an inside look into the real-world practices of the industry
• A companion website, which provides additional resources for both instructors and students, including video and audio examples and links to additional resources

Personal life

Zumoff lives with his wife Debbie and their two sons Jake (26) and Pace (22). He was born in Philadelphia, PA.

External links

• Zumoff Productions
• Marc's Blog
• Sixers Television - Marc Zumoff
• Marc Zumoff at the Internet Movie Database