The Score Television Network

The Score relaunches as Sportsnet 360 July 2013
The Score logo
Launched	1994
Owned by	Rogers Media
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Slogan	Home for the Hardcore
Country	Canada
Broadcast area	National
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Formerly called	Sportscope (1994–1997) Headline Sports (1997–2000)
Website	The Score
Availability
Satellite
Bell TV	410 (SD), 1410 (HD)
Shaw Direct	403 (SD), 264 (HD)
Cable
Available on most Canadian cable systems	Check local listings, channels may vary
IPTV
Bell Aliant TV	101 (SD), 468 (HD)
Bell Fibe TV	410 (SD), 1410 (HD)
MTS	181 (SD), 442 (HD)
Optik TV	115 (SD), 663 (HD)
SaskTel	111 (SD), 411 (HD)

The Score Television Network (often referred to only as The Score; stylized as theScore) is a Canadian English-language cable television specialty channel providing primarily sports news, highlights, information and analysis programming along with live event sports coverage. The channel is equipped with a 24/7 ticker at the bottom of the screen providing news and scores of sporting events, hence the channel's name.

Rogers Media announced a deal in August 2012 to acquire the channel's parent company, Score Media. The financial aspects of the acquisition were completed on October 19, at which point control of the channel was transferred to a blind trust pending Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approval of the deal. Rogers did not acquire the website theScore.com and associated mobile apps, which were spun-off into a new company, theScore Inc., primarily owned by Score Media's previous shareholders. These digital properties now operate independently from the TV channel, with the latter operating a separate website (theScoreTV.ca) for the interim period until the Rogers deal was approved.

The sale of The Score to Rogers was approved by the CRTC on April 30, 2013. Rogers will re-brand the channel as a Sportsnet-branded service on July 1, 2013, becoming Sportsnet 360.

History

Sportscope

Originally launched in 1994 as "Sportscope", theScore was a sports score network airing in seven Canadian provinces. Sportscope's "programming" was a non-content-based, alphanumeric text rotation of sports scores and news, and did not require a CRTC licence.

Headline Sports

First logo, during the Headline Sports era.

Sportscope was granted an English-language specialty channel licence by the CRTC on September 4, 1996, provisionally titled "Sportscope Plus". The channel launched in May 1997 as Headline Sports and was initially a national 24-hour anchor-at-desk sports news and highlight service operating on a rotating 15-minute newswheel of sports news, highlights, and scores.

Advertising was also introduced, something that did not exist during the Sportscope era. The oldies music was replaced by modern stock music during text rotation of sports scores and news. The channel also contained a constantly updated ticker at the bottom of the screen, providing sports news and scores, as it still does today, per its CRTC licence requirements.

There were initial plans to air a regional ticker and additional streams of alphanumeric data (perhaps via an alternate channel) when the channel first launched, but those plans were ultimately abandoned.

The Score

In March 2000, Headline Sports' licence was amended by the CRTC to allow live sports programming, under the conditions that the channel display the ticker and that breaks away from live coverage occur at least once every fifteen minutes to present video highlights. As a result of this—as well as legal issues with CNN Headline News, which had its own "Headline Sports" segment—the station was re-branded as "The Score" that year.

On June 6, 2006, The Score revamped its ticker alongside the launch of a new HD channel. On September 20, 2011, Score Media announced that it would put The Score Television Network up for sale.

Purchase by Rogers, re-launch as Sportsnet 360

Reports surfaced on August 24, 2012 that Rogers Communications, owners of the competing network Sportsnet, would acquire The Score's parent company. The following day, Rogers Media announced that it acquired Score Media in a transaction valued at $167 million. Pending CRTC approval, Rogers acquired Score Media's television business which included the closed captioning service Voice to Visual Inc., mixed martial arts promotion The Score Fighting Series, and The Score Television Network.

The acquisition itself closed on October 19, 2012, at which point Score Media's digital assets were spun off into another company, theScore Inc., in which Rogers Media retained a 10% interest. Score Media's TV properties were immediately placed into a blind trust, under trustee Peter Viner, pending final CRTC approval. As part of CRTC requirements to spend 10% of the value of an acquisition on initiatives to strengthen the broadcasting industry, Rogers planned to fund the production of the Sportsnet Winter Games (which would have been an annual winter sports competition) and provide funding for the production of amateur sports programming. While Rogers planned to continue running The Score as a sports news service, it also requested that the CRTC ease some of the restrictions that were placed on the network in order to allow it to be more competitive with other Canadian sports channels. Namely, Rogers requested that it only be required to air one sports news update per-hour during live programming.

The CRTC approved both the acquisition of The Score by Rogers on April 30, 2013. The CRTC also approved Rogers' proposal to only require a sports update once per hour during live programming (but rejected its proposal to spend its tangible benefits on the Sportsnet Winter Games). Immediately following the approval, it was announced that The Score would begin airing Hockey Central Playoff Extra (a spin-off of Sportsnet's NHL news program) nightly during the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, and the network replaced its afternoon programming with a simulcast of Tim & Sid, a radio show on Rogers-owned CJCL hosted by former The Score personalities Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro.

On June 4, 2013, Rogers announced that it would re-launch The Score under the Sportsnet brand as Sportsnet 360 on July 1, 2013; the network will continue to target its programming towards "hardcore" sports fans with "a vast breadth of premium sports content in a fast-paced, energetic and entertaining manner", and feature an upgraded ticker.

The Score HD

The Score HD is a high definition simulcast of The Score. It is currently available through all major TV providers in Canada except Vidéotron.

Until early 2008, most programming was Standard-definition 4:3 stretched to 16:9. Their true HD programming includes Serie A soccer, National Basketball Association basketball, the Vanier Cup, NCAA coverage and WWE's SmackDown and Raw.

On September 3, 2008, The Score began airing shows from its new multi-million dollar HD studio, located on the corner of King & Peter in Downtown Toronto. Most shows and highlights are now in true HD.

The Score Satellite Radio

Further information: The Score Satellite Radio

The Score launched a 24/7 sports radio station on Sirius Satellite Radio named The Score Satellite Radio (channel 98), that featured sports news and scores as well as coverage of some of The Score's original programming. Originally known as Hardcore Sports Radio, it was relaunched in September 2010 to unify its broadcasting and Internet operations under one brand.

On September 1, 2011 Sirius XM Radio removed the channel from their lineup, and it subsequently ceased operations.

Personalities

Current

• Cam Stewart
• Derek Snider
• Glenn Schiller
• Greg Sansone
• Jackie Redmond
• James Sharman
• Kristian Jack
• Laura Diakun
• Sherman Hamilton
• Sid Seixeiro
• Tim Micallef

Former

• Gerry Dee
• Arda Ocal
• Adnan Virk (at ESPN)
• Brent Furtney
• Cabral "Cabbie" Richards (at TSN)
• Elliotte Friedman (at CBC)
• Gabriel Morency
• James Cybulski (at TSN)
• Martine Gaillard
• Rob Pizzo
• Mauro Ranallo
• Nicole Karkic
• Nikki Reyes
• Paul Brothers
• Renee Paquette (at WWE as Renee Young)
• Rick Ralph
• Rod Mawhood
• Ryan Payton
• Sarah Meehan
• Deb Matejicka
• Sara Orlesky (at TSN)
• Steve Kouleas (at TSN)
• Steve Ludzik (at TSN)
• Tony Ambrogio

Programming

The following is a list of original or partly original programmes currently airing on The Score:

News, events, and analysis

• Aftermath (formerly Right After Wrestling) is a weekly show airing Tuesdays (6:00 PM Eastern) after the repeat broadcast of WWE RAW and on Fridays (10:00 PM Eastern) immediately following WWE Smackdown. The program was conceptualized and pitched by Arda Ocal, who also served as producer and host, along with Jimmy Korderas. It was announced on the Oct. 12, 2012 Aftermath broadcast that host Renee Paquette is leaving The Score to work for WWE as a host on WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown.
• Ball Up Street Ball is a weekly show airing Wednesdays (10:00 pm Eastern) featuring coverage of the Professional Streetball League, whose teams are coached by current and former NBA players.
• Bellator Fight Night features coverage of the fast-growing Bellator Fighting Championships, created by Bjorn Rebney. Fighters compete in a tournament format.
• Covers Experts is a simulcast of Hardcore Sports Radio's betting-line show, hosted by Rob Pizzola, Cam Stewart, and a betting expert from covers.com. They preview the night's action with betting lines in mind.
• Court Cuts is a weekly review of top highlights from the NBA.
• Daniel Negreanu's PCA Challenge is a weekly show airing Thursdays (7:00 pm Eastern). Negreanu provides instruction in the game of poker, with a mix of tutorials, archive examples from worldwide tournaments, and insight and analysis from guest players.
• Facts of Fishing is a fishing show airing Saturdays (9:00 am Eastern) and Sundays (10:00 am Eastern), hosted by professional angler Dave Mercer.
• The Footy Show is a soccer news and highlights show hosted by James Sharman, Kristian Jack, and Brendan Dunlap. Debuted in August 2007, replacing a world sports news show called Sportsworld.
• "Live @theScore" is a former panel discussion show hosted by Cam Stewart, Jackie Redmond, and several other personalities. The program aired live from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm, followed by two encores.
• The MMA Show is hosted by Mauro Ranallo who covers the week in Mixed Martial Arts and previews upcoming events, along with a viewer-submitted "Question of the Week" with Arda Ocal
• NBA Court Surfing airs live cut-ins to NBA games on Tuesday nights during the regular season, hosted by Sherman Hamilton, Mack Strong and Will Strickland.
• Score on the NFL airing Thursdays (7:30 pm Eastern) is a news show that previews the week's National Football League action, hosted by Greg Sansone, Cam Stewart, and Tim Micallef, and features Ron Meyer as a weekly special guest.
• Serie A airs matches from Italy's elite soccer league, which includes clubs Juventus, Internazionale, and Milan.
• Tim & Sid, a simulcast of the CJCL afternoon radio show.

Live programming

• RaceNight is coverage of horse racing from Mohawk Raceway and Woodbine Racetrack hosted by Laura Diakun.
• Sportsworld Matchday is the name of The Score's coverage of any international sporting event for which The Score will air – most recently English Premier League football, which returns to The Score next season.
• University Rush is the name of The Score's coverage of Canadian Interuniversity Sports' university athletics, with a particular emphasis on Canadian football. In the past, University Rush has only showed one weekly game from the Ontario University Athletics, but as of 2006 began coverage of Quebec Student Sports Federation and Atlantic University Sport football as well, culminating in the playoffs and the Vanier Cup.
• NBA Basketball coverage of the TNT doubleheader airing on Thursdays as well as Toronto Raptors games and a large number of regular season games.
• NCAA college football and college basketball games, many of which air on ESPN in the United States. It also aired the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship from 2007 to 2010, when it lost the rights to ESPN International (and in turn to TSN and TSN2 in Canada).
• The Score holds the broadcasting rights for the Canadian men's national basketball team.
• In the past, The Score has also had rights to NLL, MLB, Canadian Baseball League, and was the English-language broadcaster of the Expos for their final season in Montreal (including the very last home game in September 2004).
• The network has added various Poker series
• They have also attempted to get the rights to an English-language broadcast of the Montreal Canadiens, but have failed up to now because The Score was not carried on the Videotron cable TV network, which is needed for the contract; The Score has been carried on Videotron for at least one year now.

Other programs

• The network has added MMA properties including WEC.
• It also airs Canadian fighters and matches in the Score Fighting Series which airs 7 pm directly before WWE NXT.
• Blue Mountain State airing Mondays and Fridays, is an American comedy series about a fictional university, Blue Mountain State, and its football team. The series portrays aspects of university life, including football, sex, binge drinking, drugs, wild partying, and hazing.
• Eastbound & Down (Season 2) airs on Sundays (11:00 pm Eastern). The American comedy television series about a downtrodden former professional baseball pitcher, produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, was originally broadcast on HBO.

Pro wrestling: WWE

• WWE Raw is the flagship show of WWE. After airing live with The Score promising, unlike its previous hosts at TSN, to never preempt Raw. It was notable for soon airing on a 15-minute tape delay, unlike TSN, which aired the program live unless delayed due to other sports. The 15-minute tape delay was thought to exist due to previous difficulties involving censoring risque storylines at TSN. However, the actual claimed reason was due to the amount of live broadcasts The Score is currently licensed to air.^{[citation needed]} By creating a 15-minute delay, the program was no longer "live" and not in violation of their license with the CRTC. The Score airs a 15-minute pre-show of the previous week's show entitled Countdown to Raw. Raw is aired a second time at 1 am EST/10PM PT and a third time the following day, directly before the "Aftermath" (formerly Right After Wrestling) analysis. As of May 6th, 2013, The Score held it's first live brodcast of Raw.
• WWE NXT is the show that replaced ECW after it was cancelled. Both programs were initially hosted on Global TV (3). NXT was picked up by the Score beginning with the premiere of its second season. While it no longer airs at all in the United States, even on WWE.com, on Score it airs Wednesday at 9 pm following the Score Fighting Series.
• WWE SmackDown is the flagship show of WWE's SmackDown brand. Originally airing Thursdays, it continued to air on Thursdays even after it was moved to Fridays in the United States, making it one of the few WWE shows that aired outside of the US before airing domestically. As such, it was never referred to by the network as Friday Night SmackDown! in Canada, even after the show was moved to Fridays to match the US airtime.
• WWE Vintage Collection airs classic matches corresponding to ongoing themes in programming or notable pay-per-views, characters or times of year. It airs at various times.
• WWE Experience is a weekly recap show of the week's events from WWE's Raw and SmackDown! brands, hosted by Greg Sansone. This is one of the few WWE programs that are not produced by WWE itself, although the format is identical to that of the international version hosted by Steve Romero. It airs Sundays.

Former programs

• Score In the Morning was a live morning show aired on weekdays, hosted by Adnan Virk and Nikki Reyes. It was cancelled in February 2009.
• Score Tonight was a former nightly news and highlights program. Originally hosted by Greg Sansone and Martine Gaillard, Sid Seixeiro and Tim Micallef hosted the program from 2004 to its cancellation in July 2009. The program also featured regular segments such as Cabbie Richards' Cabbie on the Street and the Plays of the Week.
• Hardcore Hockey Talk, Late Edition was a hockey-oriented discussion show hosted by Steve Kouleas, cancelled in July 2009.
• Drive This! was a simulcast of Hardcore Sports Radio's drive-time show, hosted by Richard Garner, Cam Stewart, and Sarah Meehan with daily appearances from HSR's late-show host Gabriel Morency.

External links

• The Score Homepage