Final Score (United States)

"Final Score" (formerly "FSN Final Score") is the nightly sports news program that airs across the United States on Fox Sports Net.

The program airs at 10:30 p.m. and midnight local time Monday through Friday, and 10:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. (Some affiliates also air this show at 10 p.m. Sundays, with an immediate replay.) The times became effective on November 19, 2006; before that, the show aired at 11:30 p.m. local time Monday through Friday, 10:30 p.m. Saturday, and 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

"Final Score" debuted on July 3, 2006 and is the first nationwide sportscast to air on the collection of regional sports networks since the "National Sports Report" was cancelled in 2002. Van Earl Wright was the only former anchor of the first show to appear on this show; he was released by FSN in the summer of 2007.

The name of the program was changed on April 23, 2008. The letters "FSN" were removed from the show title, the FSN logo was removed from the title card, and all mention of the FoxSports.com website with which the show was associated was also omitted. FSN did not explain why it removed its own brand. One report suggested that the FSN affiliates owned by Cablevision (FSN Florida, FSN Ohio, MSG Plus [formerly FSN New York] ) and Comcast (CSN Chicago, CSN Philadelphia, CSN Mid-Atlantic, CSN Bay Area and CSN New England, the latter two also once FSN-branded) had chosen not to place their high-definition feeds on DirecTV, which was the show's sponsor at the time. Therefore, FSN could be protesting this in some way, similar to when Fox Television Stations Group ordered the dropping of "UPN" from channel names when that network and the WB merged to become the CW in 2006, with none of those stations included in the new network's affiliate list. (All 10 stations later formed the nucleus of MyNetworkTV.) It is interesting to note that DirecTV's on-screen guide and [http://partnergrid.tvguide.com/PartnerGrid/Grids/closerlook.aspx?Qr=5402813&DT=10/1/2008_0:30:00_AM&cl=FSN_651.1 TV Guide] still list the program's name as the old title. However, MSG+, CSN Mid-Atlantic and CSN Chicago are available "24/7" on HD from DirecTV and the other networks have occasional HD telecasts on the service. (CSN Philadelphia is still unavailable in any form for technical reasons.)

The program consists of highlights of the night's sporting events, as well as a wrapup of some news items away from the venue of play. There are no additional analyses or feature stories, except on nights when very few games are played.

creen layout

July 3, 2006 through April 23, 2008

*A ticker on the bottom of the screen is the "FoxSports.com on MSN Headlines." Everything that happens away from the venue of play is shown here, including contract signings, trades, criminal actions, and deaths. When the show premiered, this was on the top of the screen. In October 2006, it was moved to its present location, just above a rolling graphic showing the night's scores and details.
*On the left is the main screen on which the program is shown. This expanded in size in the October redesign.
*The right-hand middle portion is "The Rundown." Here is the scheduled order of content for the show. The current element is on the top in the largest print, accompanied by graphics (most often team logos). The next four items scheduled are listed below.
*"Final Score" ends with "The Big Moment," which is the most valuable highlight or sound bite of the day, as chosen by the show's producers.

April 23, 2008-present

Only the rolling graphic remains on the show, with both scores and news sharing the space on an alternating basis. The screen size increased accordingly.

Anchors

Current

*Barry LeBrock: (2006-present)
*Laura Okmin: (2007-present)
*Danyelle Sargent: (2006-present)
*Andrew Siciliano: (2006-present)
*Greg Wolf: (2006-present) - Mostly Friday and Saturday shows

Former

*Randy Kerdoon: (2006)
*Van Earl Wright: (2006-2007)

ponsors

Quizno's Subs became the presenting sponsor on September 29, 2008, replacing DirecTV, which was the sponsor from the program's inception. Quizno's also sponsors the "big moment."

From December 20, 2006 to mid-January 2007, TiVo sponsored the very first highlight of the show, which is now called the "TiVo Opening Act." Ironically, the first scheduled "opening act" was reserved for a NBA game that was postponed due to a blizzard that paralyzed Denver, Colorado, where the game was scheduled to take place. The first actual "opening act" was the Green Bay Packers' win over the Minnesota Vikings in NFL football the following night. Since then, sponsors have included Lexmark, Just for Men, and Bass Pro Shops. Even Lions Gate Films has sponsored this segment, in support of the movie "Charlie Bartlett". This segment does not appear on all shows.

Currently, a sponsored segment called "Tomorrow is a Big Day," previewing upcoming games and events, appears toward the end of the show every Friday night. It is sponsored by Hilton Garden Inn, for which the phrase is their corporate slogan.

Alteration due to deaths

From the beginning of the show's run until the end of 2007, news of notable deaths in the sports world were presented in full screen and the usual layout of the show is delayed until the next story.

This happened at least nine times:
*Cory Lidle (October 11, 2006)
*Red Auerbach (October 28, 2006)
*Bo Schembechler (November 17, 2006)
*Lamar Hunt (December 13, 2006)
*Dennis Johnson (February 22, 2007)
*Josh Hancock (April 29, 2007)
*Bill France, Jr. (June 4, 2007)
*Bill Walsh (July 30, 2007)
*Sean Taylor (November 27, 2007)

In addition, FSN could take down the layout during the program and present the obituary in full screen mode. This happened in the cases of the passings of Major League Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, NASCAR champion Benny Parsons and college basketball head coach Skip Prosser, to name a few examples.

However, the death of Barbaro (who was then the defending Kentucky Derby winner) on January 29, 2007 was not reported on a full screen. In 2008, the policy changed at least once. when When St. Louis Rams owner Georgia Frontiere (January 12) and sportscaster Jim McKay (June 7) died, the layout stayed on the screen as usual. But on June 21, when NHRA drag racing driver Scott Kalitta was killed in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey at a qualifying event, the death was presented in full screen as before.

Differences with ESPN

The main difference between this show and ESPN's "SportsCenter" is "Final Score"'s rapid-fire pace. It is more comparable to ESPNEWS. It is very intense on highlights, with soundbites and other graphics ("e.g." team standings and brackets) squeezed in if time allows. (On March 31, 2008, ESPNEWS debuted a program similar to this called "The Highlight Zone".)

Another difference surfaced during the 2007 NASCAR season. "Final Score" continued to use the names and logos of NASCAR races even as ESPN ceased to do so. (See the section on the SportsCenter page, "Conditions to showing highlights," for more details.)

Final Score Extra

On September 3, 2007, FSN premiered a new spin-off program called "FSN Final Score Extra", which airs at 6 p.m. local time. The program is a recap show of the previous night's games, with updated ticker and game time information. There is also a new gossip section called "Rumor Has It." Laura Okmin was the first anchor. Due to low ratings and high production costs, FSN decided to cancel Final Score Extra. The show's final airing was Thursday June 26, 2008. Laura Okmin's status with the network is undetermined.

BDSSP tie-in

From mid-September 2007 to April 23, 2008, the first item displayed on the ticker at the beginning of the show and after each commercial break was a promotional announcement for the episode of "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" that aired the following night, or the next Monday if the show aired Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The episode is still also promoted on the panels to the right of the anchor at the very end of the show; previously, that spot had gone to promoting this program.

FCS Final Score

Twice a week, a version of this show appears on Fox College Sports, with news and highlights from American college sports programs. [http://msn.foxsports.com/id/3293720]

ee also

* National Sports Report

External links

* [http://msn.foxsports.com/story/1636002 FSN home page]