Battle of the Network Stars
| Battle of the Network Stars | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | November 13, 1976 – December 10, 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.
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. Typically, episodes were aired twice per calendar year, once during the spring and once during the fall during Nielsen Ratings sweeps weeks.
Sports broadcaster Howard Cosell hosted or co-hosted all but one of the specials (he did not host the 1985 edition due to a falling-out with ABC, but he returned for the final edition in 1988), and commented on the action with a semi-serious version of the style for which he was famous.
As of 2016, Battle of the Network Stars airs in reruns on Monday nights on ESPN Classic.
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. 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.
This edition aired under the title Challenge of the Network Stars.
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