TORONTO – Cable sports channel The Score launched its state of the art, street front, high-definition studio this week, taking the channel out of its long-time home deep inside The Holiday Inn on King in downtown Toronto.
Designed to give ringside seats to sports fans and access to athletes, Score personalities and the broadcast studio like never before, the new studio will give fans a far more up close and personal experience than in the past.
"Our new, interactive HD studio was designed with our hardcore sports fans in mind and we are convinced it will transform the audience experience as we invite fans to get involved in everything we do,” said John Levy, chairman and CEO of Score Media, in a release. “And as we now move to broadcasting approximately 90 percent of our hardcore programming in HD, we know our fans will be even more excited about everything we have to offer."
Fans can now take part in the studio audience and text in their burning questions. And with a 9’ x 14′ outdoor screen and an up to the minute ticker, fans can see The Score everywhere.
Along with the launch of the studio come programming changes, too:
* Score in the Morning – With host Nikki Reyes, fresh content and up to the minute sports highlights, The Score’s new morning show, launching in October, will give viewers everything they need to get up to speed on the latest sports news
* The channel’s CIS (Canadian university) football coverage adds a new analyst to the mix with former CFL receiver and McMaster Marauder alumnus Mike Morreale. Joining Tim Micallef and seen regularly on Saturdays, The Score’s CIS regular season and championship coverage will culminate at The Vanier Cup broadcast live on November 22nd.
* NCAA Thursday Night Football – Beginning September 4th, Thursday nights will be dedicated to featuring Top 25 teams throughout the regular season
* NBA Double Header – In response to viewer feedback, starting on December 11th, The Score will be featuring the NBA’s Thursday night double header following the college football regular season.
* Cabbie Unlimited Season 3 – The off the wall Cabbie interviews are back as of Tuesday September 2nd at 7pm
* Hardcore Hockey Talk – With a new name and the same passion for Canada’s game, Hardcore Hockey Talk (formerly The Spin) returns on September 23rd with hardcore host Steve Kouleas and analysts Steve Ludzik, Mark Osborne and Al Strachan
The launch of our studio is just one way of catering to our hardcore fans," added Levy, in the press release. "We know that they crave the opportunity to get involved. We also know that they want to consume information on a variety of platforms. Through our new studio and our focus on giving fans the latest in sports whether it be online, mobile or radio, we know we are giving fans what they want, how they want it."
The Score will also host a street party featuring athletes and musical guests on Saturday, September 20th, 2008 at 4 p.m. To find out more. visit www.thescore.com/events.
