Vulture.com reports that Ronda Rousey will be one of the permanent captains for the revival of the Battle of the Network stars. Retired NFL player with the Dallas Cowboys, DeMarcus Ware will serve as the other captain.
The original show aired on ABC from 1976-1988 and pitted stars from each of the three big networks at the time: ABC, NBC and CBS performing in athletic competitions which included a dunk tank, obstacle course and tug of war. Legendary announcer, Howard Cosell, served as the show’s original commentator. Mike Greenberg and Joe Tessitore will serve as co-hosts for this reboot.
There will be two significant changes to this Battle than the one from yesteryear. First, this will be a ten-episode series running weekly with its debut starting June 29th. The original aired once or twice per year. Secondly, the networks will not be segregated. Instead, as the Vulture article points out, the teams will be based on the actor’s characters (e.g, cops vs. TV sitcoms, TV moms and dads vs. TV kids).
Payout Perspective:
I was a big fan of the original show and while it will be billed as an athletic competition, it always had comedic elements to it. The remake will be interesting to see how it plays for this generation. Rousey as captain will help draw appeal from a broad range of demos and this likely helps her propel a career outside of fighting.
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