The sports station that bills itself as the “Home for the Hardcore” has redesigned its broadcast environment.
Score Media has built a high-definition set in downtown Toronto for its sports news channel The Score. The environment is open-concept, which the company said will allow for more interaction with viewers and a greater variety of opportunities for advertisers.
The set, conceived by New York-based designer Jeff Yates and built by Toronto’s Bratton Scenery, includes several large, high-definition television screens, sports-themed decor such as stadium turf and a seating area for audience members. In addition, one corner of the set opens out onto a view of Toronto streets King and Peter, reminiscent of the MuchMusic headquarters nearby.
The new studio will allow The Score’s on-air talent to broadcast from several different stand-up locations in addition to working from behind the desk. Since the station debuted in the mid-1990s, its anchors have been restricted by a small set with a single desk.
John Levy, chair and CEO of Score Media, said the new design reflects the station’s irreverence and its target audience of dedicated sports fans, as well as its strategy to make the audience a part of the programming.
“Nothing like this has ever been done for sports, but there’s no reason it shouldn’t have been [this way before],” said Levy, drawing the comparison to MuchMusic. “It’s the same passion–it’s just a different genre. It’s the same emotions and interactivity between the audience and the people facilitating the excitement.
“Our hosts are almost going to be interchangeable with our audiences. It’s sort of what we always were, but we’re taking the next step.”
Levy added that the new set should also interest advertisers, whose brands can be integrated into the studio environment, as well as the exterior of the building, which features a large high-definition television screen. Advertisers can be integrated into the environment slowly over the coming weeks to allow the broadcast team and viewers to get used to the new surroundings.
“We’re going to try and integrate our advertisers into the programming we offer, but we’re not going to do it in a phony way,” said Levy. “We’re not going to make our set like a NASCAR car.”
However, one sponsor, Panasonic, is already involved as the provider of the high-definition television screens and a sponsor of the new studio. A graphic with the words, “The Score HD Presented by Panasonic” will adorn the exterior of the facility.
The first broadcast from the new set takes place Wednesday night, when the highlight show The Score Tonight returns from a summer-long absence necessitated by construction of the new set.
