SCORE (television)

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For the similarly named television station currently airing in Canada, see The Score Television Network.

SCORE was a joint venture with Financial News Network which aired sports-themed programming in the 1980s.

SCORE was truly ahead of its time, and had several shows that were televised versions of what sports talk radio is today. SCORE featured some professional sporting events, live call-in shows, and sports news shows. Live sporting events included professional wrestling, MISL soccer, college basketball, the CFL and boxing. Its most popular show was Time Out for Trivia, hosted by Todd Donoho. Other call-in shows included The Fan Speaks Out, The Final Score, and The Sports Collector. News shows featured included Tennis Talk, a baseball program called The Hot Stove League, and a sports wagering program with Wayne Root.

SCORE may have also been the first cable sports service to utilize a sports ticker or crawl, updating scores at the bottom of the screen. As it was a co-venture with FNN, a stock ticker was often shown across the bottom of the screen.

SCORE provided scores and highlight updates every half-hour; it may have been the first network to report that the death of college basketball star Len Bias (in June 1986) was related to his use of cocaine.

The professional wrestling programming was also popular as it exposed fans to regional territory wrestling promotions throughout the country. These territories included the Mid-Atlantic with Ric Flair and Chief Wahoo McDaniel, Memphis with Jerry 'the King' Lawler, Texas with the Von Erich's and the Maivia family's Hawaii with Rocky Johnson, King Curtis, Don Muraco, Lars Anderson, Superfly Snuka, Bruiser Brody and many Japanese wrestlers. It also prominently featured wrestling from the Continental Wrestling Federation including matches featuring Eddie Gilbert, Tom Prichard, and The Dirty White Boy.

SCORE began in 1985 and shut down six years later. It was renamed FNN Sports in 1990 when FNN decided to go with a 24-hour feed on weekdays. FNN itself folded in 1991.

[edit] Program highlight

On July 8, 1984, the United States men's national basketball team defeated a team of National Basketball Association stars at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana in front of 67,596 fans, a record paid attendance for any basketball game at the time. SCORE simulcast the Sports Time coverage of the game.

Other hosts included Bill Brown, John Loesing and Fred Wallin.