Battle of the Network Stars

Battle of the Network Stars
Format sports competition
Presented by Howard Cosell
with various others (see below)
Country of origin USA
No. of episodes 19
Production
Running time 120 minutes
Production company(s) Trans World International
ABC Sports
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Original run November 13, 1976 – December 1988

Battle of the Network Stars was a series of competitions where television stars from ABC, CBS, and NBC would compete in various sporting events. A total of nineteen of these competitions were held, all of which were aired by ABC.

History

The first Battle was broadcast on ABC starting in November 1976. The program proved popular and continued for an additional eight and a half years, with subsequent episodes airing approximately every six months until May 1985. One final competition aired in December 1988. NBC tried to revive the competition in 2003, but with an intra-network contest consisting of personalities from the NBC family of networks.

Sports broadcaster Howard Cosell hosted or co-hosted almost all of the specials, and commented on the action with a semi-serious version of the style for which he was famous.

As of 2012, Battle of the Network Stars airs in reruns on Monday nights on ESPN Classic.

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Format

Each network was represented by eight or nine of its stars from various series, and one of those people from each team would be elected to serve as the network's team captain.

Some of the events were modeled after those used on The Superstars, another Trans World-ABC production that featured athletes from all sports competing against each other for an overall title. Regular events included swimming, kayaking, volleyball, golf, tennis, bowling (on custom-made outdoor lanes), cycling, 3-on-3 football, the baseball dunk, running, and the obstacle course. Also featured as a regular event was a game of "Simon Says", directed by Catskill hotel Grossinger's entertainer Lou Goldstein.[1] Each network received points based on how it performed in the event.

After the regular events were over, the lowest scoring network was eliminated from further competition and the two remaining networks determined the day's winner with a tug of war.

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See also

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Last modified on 25 April 2013, at 00:27