# Score bug > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Score_bug > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Score_bug.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Score_bug > Source revision: 1350997827 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|On-screen graphic in sports broadcasting}} {{Redirect|Fox Box|the children's television programming block|4Kids TV}} A '''score bug''' is a [digital on-screen graphic](/source/digital_on-screen_graphic) which is displayed in a [broadcast of a sporting event](/source/Broadcasting_of_sports_events), displaying the current [score](/source/Score_(sport)) and other statistics.{{cite web |url=https://www.easytechjunkie.com/what-is-a-score-bug.htm |title=What Is a Score Bug? (with picture) |access-date=June 26, 2021 |last=Newth |first=Alex |date= |work=Easy Tech Junkie |publisher=Conjecture Corporation |location= |language= |quote= }} It is similar in function to a [scoreboard](/source/scoreboard), and is usually placed at either the top or [lower third](/source/lower_third) of the [television screen](/source/television_screen). == History == thumb|A typical score bug on a televised sporting event will consist of the station logo alongside the current score of game, and other information, such as time elapsed. The concept of a persistent score bug was devised by [Sky Sports](/source/Sky_Sports) head [David Hill](/source/David_Hill_(producer)), who was dissatisfied over having to wait to see what the score was after tuning into a football match in-progress. The score bug was introduced when Sky launched its coverage of the then newly-formed English [Premier League](/source/Premier_League) in August 1992. Hill's boss repeatedly demanded that the graphic be removed, describing it as the "stupidest thing [he] had ever seen". Hill defied the boss's demands and kept the graphic in place. ITV introduced a score bug at the start of the 1993–94 football season, and the [BBC](/source/BBC) introduced a score bug towards the end of 1993. The concept was introduced to the United States by [ABC Sports](/source/ESPN_on_ABC) and [ESPN](/source/ESPN) during coverage of the [1994 FIFA World Cup](/source/1994_FIFA_World_Cup). Their justification for the graphic was to provide a location for a rotating series of [sponsor](/source/Sponsor_(commercial)) logos, in order to allow matches to air without commercial interruption.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/13/sports/the-tv-score-box-that-grew-and-grew.html|title=The Innovation That Grew and Grew|last=Sandomir|first=Richard|date=2014-06-12|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-01-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} With the acquisition of rights to the [National Football League](/source/National_Football_League) (NFL) by [BSkyB](/source/BSkyB)'s American sibling [Fox](/source/Fox_Broadcasting_Company) (a fellow venture of [Rupert Murdoch](/source/Rupert_Murdoch)), Hill became the first president of [Fox Sports](/source/Fox_Sports_(United_States)). Under Hill's leadership, Fox introduced a version of the score bug branded as the "Fox Box", which was part of its inaugural season of [NFL coverage](/source/NFL_on_Fox) in [1994](/source/1994_NFL_season). ''[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))'' criticized it as an "annoying see-through clock and score graphic" and expressed concern for people "who actually watched the beginning of the game and would rather have their screen clear of graphics".{{cite news|last=Cox|first=Dan|title=NFL on Fox Review|url=https://variety.com/1994/tv/reviews/nfl-on-fox-2-1200438717/|magazine=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))|date=September 6, 1994|access-date=January 9, 2021}} Hill even received a death threat from an irate viewer, with a specific emphasis on him being a "foreigner",{{Cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/12/13/18137938/nfl-fox-deal-rupert-murdoch-1993-john-madden-terry-bradshaw-howie-long-jimmy-johnson-cbs-nbc|title=The Great NFL Heist: How Fox Paid for and Changed Football Forever|last=Curtis|first=Bryan|date=2018-12-13|website=[The Ringer](/source/The_Ringer_(website))|language=en|access-date=January 9, 2021}} but the score bug soon became a ubiquitous feature for American football broadcasts, along with almost all American sports broadcasts in the years that followed.{{cite news |last=Lucia|first=Joe|date=April 6, 2021|title=Which RSN has the best MLB scorebug?|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/which-rsn-has-the-best-mlb-scorebug.html|work=Awful Announcing|location= |access-date=}} [Dick Ebersol](/source/Dick_Ebersol) of [NBC Sports](/source/NBC_Sports) initially opposed the idea of a score bug, as he thought that fans would dislike seeing more graphics on the screen and would change the channel from [blowout](/source/blowout_(sports)) games if the score was constantly being displayed. Since the 2010s, the on-air design and positioning of some score bugs have been influenced by the needs of [Internet video](/source/Internet_video) (especially when viewing an event on devices with smaller screens), including bugs noticeably larger than prior iterations designed with television viewing in mind, or designs primarily kept towards the bottom-center of the screen (easing the ability for the bug to remain visible when highlights are cropped for [square videos](/source/Aspect_ratio_(image)) posted on social media).{{Cite web |title=Fox redesigns its NFL graphics for the point-your-phone-at-the-TV era |url=https://www.avclub.com/fox-redesigns-its-nfl-graphics-for-the-point-your-phone-1841522459 |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=AV Club |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Bupp |first=Phillip |date=2022-02-13 |title=NBC debuts a more centered scorebug for the Super Bowl |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/nbc-debuts-a-more-centered-scorebug-for-the-super-bowl.html |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Koo |first=Ben |date=2016-10-05 |title=ESPN and TBS debut new massive, oversized score bugs because of millennials? Maybe old people? |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/2016/espn-tbs-debut-new-massive-oversized-score-bugs.html |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}} == Details == Score bugs used in [team sports](/source/Team_sport) typically include the names of both teams, an abbreviation of the team's name, and/or the team's logo; for individual sports, they include the names of individual competitors. In sports where a [game clock](/source/Game_clock_(sports)) or [playing periods](/source/Playing_period) are used, those are generally also displayed as part of the score bug. Some broadcasts also include teams' [win-loss records](/source/Win-loss_record).{{Cite web |last=Kadlick |first=Mike |date=2025-09-09 |title=Ranking the Current NFL Scorebugs for the 2025 Season |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/ranking-the-current-nfl-scorebugs-for-the-2025-season |access-date=2025-12-15 |website=Sports Illustrated |language=en-US}} In 2024, ESPN experimented with adding a persistent win probability meter to its bug in Major League Baseball, which was based on input from its statisticians.{{Cite web |last=Dachman |first=Jason |date=2024-03-28 |title=MLB Opening Day: ESPN Brings Sunday Night Baseball Into Analytic Age With Volumetric Replays, 'Win Probability' in Scorebug |url=https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/03/28/mlb-opening-day-espn-brings-sunday-night-baseball-into-analytic-age-with-volumetric-replays-constant-win-probability-in-scorebug/ |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=Sports Video Group |language=en}} === Variations === In addition to the above information, score bugs in some sports include additional information: * In [baseball](/source/baseball), score bugs display the current [inning](/source/inning), number of [outs](/source/Out_(baseball)), the [pitch clock](/source/pitch_clock) if applicable, and a graphic displaying which bases are occupied; and usually include names of the current [pitcher](/source/pitcher) and [batter](/source/Batting_(baseball)), the pitcher's [pitch count](/source/pitch_count), and the number of [balls and strikes](/source/Strike_zone) accrued by the batter.{{Cite web |last=Keeley |first=Sean |date=2024-04-04 |title=Here's every 2024 MLB broadcaster scorebug graphic |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/every-2024-broadcaster-scorebug-graphic.html |access-date=2025-12-16 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}} * In [basketball](/source/basketball), score bugs generally include the [shot clock](/source/shot_clock), the number of [fouls](/source/Foul_(basketball)) accrued by each team, and whether a team is [in the bonus](/source/Bonus_(basketball)).{{Cite web |last=Russo |first=Justin |date=2024-01-18 |title=The 2023-24 NBA Broadcast Scorebug Rankings |url=https://justinrusso.substack.com/p/nba-broadcast-scorebug-rankings-2023 |access-date=2025-12-16 |website=Russo Writes, a Substack publication}}{{Cite web |last=Yoder |first=Matt |date=2023-04-14 |title=The 2023 NBA scorebug rankings |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/2023-nba-scorebug-rankings.html |access-date=2025-12-16 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}} * In [cricket](/source/cricket), score bugs often take the form of larger dashboards across the bottom of the screen, displaying the current team up and their number of [runs](/source/Run_(cricket)), [wickets](/source/Wicket_(sport)), and [overs](/source/Over_(cricket)), a display showing the runs scored and number of balls faced by the current batting [partnership](/source/Partnership_(cricket)), and statistics for the opposing team's [bowler](/source/Bowling_(cricket)) (including the number of wickets scored and runs given up).{{Cite web |last=Morton |first=Jamie |title=Annoying and 'ugly' coverage |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/annoying-and-ugly-coverage-just-not-cricket/JZ22MIUGHKQP2ZE4MK3YLMXAXQ/ |access-date=2026-03-07 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}} * In [American football](/source/American_football), score bugs usually include the [play clock](/source/play_clock) and the [down and distance](/source/Down_(gridiron_football)) of the current play; they also incorporate graphics indicating when a [penalty flag](/source/penalty_flag) has been thrown.{{Cite web |last=Neumann |first=Sam |date=2025-01-01 |title=ESPN scorebug creates confusion over penalty flags |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/scorebug-confusion-penalty-flags.html |access-date=2025-12-15 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}} * In [ice hockey](/source/ice_hockey), score bugs display when a [penalty](/source/Penalty_(ice_hockey)) or [power play](/source/Power_play_(ice_hockey)) is in effect, and often include the number of [shots on goal](/source/Shot_on_goal_(ice_hockey)) accrued by each team.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-30 |title=Grading the Best and Worst Score Bugs in Sports |url=https://staturdays.com/2021/08/30/grading-the-best-and-worst-score-bugs-in-sports/ |access-date=2025-12-16 |website=Staturdays |language=en}} * In [golf](/source/golf), Fox popularized the display of a persistent leaderboard graphic in the bottom-right of the screen, usually displaying the top 5.{{cite news |title=The ups and huge graphic down to FOX's US Open coverage |url=https://nypost.com/2015/06/19/the-ups-and-huge-graphic-down-to-foxs-us-open-coverage/ |access-date=12 October 2015 |work=New York Post}}{{cite news |title=The U.S. Open on television: Ready for drones, rail cams and robotics? |url=http://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-us-open-on-television-read |access-date=October 12, 2015 |work=Golf Digest}} ==== Racing ==== Telecasts of [automobile races](/source/Auto_racing) often include a score bug with the current positions of participants, statistics such as distance behind the leader, and the remaining distance or number of [laps](/source/Race_track). In the mid-2010s, NASCAR broadcasters such as Fox began to transition from horizontal [tickers](/source/News_ticker) to vertical leaderboards (also referred to as "pylons", in reference to the physical scoring pylons at). [The CW](/source/NASCAR_on_The_CW) differentiated itself by using a horizontal display that divides the field into multiple columns along the bottom of the screen.{{Cite web |author-last1=Bupp |author-first1=Phillip |date=February 12, 2018 |title=Despite fan criticism, Fox's new NASCAR ticker could work with a few tweaks |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/fox/despite-fan-criticism-foxs-new-nascar-ticker-work-tweaks.html |access-date=December 22, 2020 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |author-last1=Billingsley |author-first1=Jacob |date=February 12, 2018 |title=Fox brings new graphics to NASCAR coverage, replaces scoring ticker |url=https://www.newscaststudio.com/2018/02/12/fox-sports-nascar-sidebar-graphics/?og=1 |access-date=December 22, 2020 |website=NewscastStudio |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2025-02-27 |title=The CW Bursts Onto NASCAR Xfinity Scene With High-Energy Pre-Race Show, Reimagined Graphics Package - Sports Video Group |url=https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/02/27/the-cw-bursts-onto-nascar-xfinity-scene-with-high-energy-pre-race-show-reimagined-graphics-package/ |access-date=2026-03-07 |language=en-US}} ==See also== * [Character generator](/source/Character_generator) * [Intertitle](/source/Intertitle) ==References== {{Reflist|30em}}{{Broadcasting}} Category:Computer graphics Category:Film and video technology Category:Sports television technology Category:Television terminology Category:Scoring (sport) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Score bug](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Score_bug) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Score_bug?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.