Ted Sobel is an Americansportscaster who is the longest current tenured Los Angeles-based radio sports reporter. He has worked mostly with CBS Radio since 1985. Sobel is the network's in-studio host and producer of Sports USA Radio's NFL pre, halftime, and postgame shows in addition to providing in-game scoreboard updates during Sunday doubleheader broadcasts. Since 2005, Ted has been a sideline reporter for Sports USA Radio's NFL and NCAA games of the week while also hosting podcasts for the network along with field reporting covering all major sports, most notably the Masters Tournament. Sobel is currently writing his first book Touching Greatness with an expected December 2018 release.
Sobel returned to Los Angeles after his time in Madison, Wisconsin to do radio play-by-play for Long Beach State basketball and football on KNAC-FM and U.C. Irvine basketball on KWVE-FM in 1980-82. In 1985 Sobel began working as a sports anchor and field reporter for the CBS-owned and operated KNX Radio where he continued until joining KMPC Radio when they became the first all-sports station in Los Angeles in 1992. He was an update anchor, field reporter, and talk show host for the Gene Autry-owned station while also producing Los Angeles Rams and UCLA football postgame shows. Sobel continued to work on assignment for KNX most recently covering the 2016 Masters Tournament for Los Angeles' only all-news station. In 1994, Sobel moved over to radio station KFWB where he was also a sports anchor/reporter and talk show host and the lone survivor of four different format changes until the station was sold in 2016. He also hosted Los Angeles Dodgers pre and postgame shows from 2003-2007 on the Dodgers flagship station and some NBALos Angeles Clippers pre and post game shows as part of their flagship station. He has reported from numerous Super Bowls, World Series, NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Rose Bowl games, NCAA Football and Basketball National Championships, Summer Olympics, U.S. Open Golf and Tennis, PGA Championship, World Cup of Soccer, Breeders Cup and Triple Crown horse races, etc. He broke several big stories including the Wayne Gretzky trade from Los Angeles to St. Louis and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks brief move to Los Angeles in 1996.
Awards
Sobel was a three time Golden Mike winner for best sports news reporting in Southern California radio while at KFWB where he also enjoyed being part of a record 10-year run of winning the prestigious Best Radio Anchor Staff awards presented by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association.
Other sports assignments
Sobel spent seven years as the 18th green announcer at the LPGA's first major of the year: the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California. He was the on-court stadium announcer for over 15 years at the now defunct Los Angeles OpenATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament at UCLA, most recently known as the Farmers Classic under the direction of Bob and Jack Kramer where he also did tennis play by play for their in-house radio setup to the attending fans. Sobel's extensive voice over work includes many local commercials while also being the hockey arena public address announcer's voice for the 1986 movie Touch and Go for Tri-Star Pictures starring Michael Keaton.
Personal life
A Los Angeles native, Sobel is one of four children born to parents Bernie and Sherry Sobel. His mother was a big band and USO singer who used the stage name Shari Fare. Her maiden name was Foreman and was the sister of six-time Academy Award nominee Carl Foreman who won the Oscar for his best written adapted screenplay of the 1958 Oscar winning best picture The Bridge on the River Kwai. Sobel is also a first cousin to author Amanda Foreman and her journalist brother Jonathan Foreman.