A scorebug is the on-screen graphic in sports broadcasts that shows the score, time remaining, and key game information. You see them constantly during NFL games, NBA broadcasts, and pretty much any televised sport — that small graphic tucked in a corner showing which teams are playing and what the current score is.
If you've ever tuned into a game partway through and immediately knew the score without waiting for the announcer — that's the scorebug doing its job.
What Information Does a Scorebug Display?
Every scorebug shows the basics: team names, current score, and game time. Beyond that, the information varies by sport.
Standard Elements
- Team names or abbreviations (often with logos)
- Current score
- Game clock or time remaining
- Period, quarter, half, or inning
Football Scorebugs (NFL, College)
Football scorebugs pack more information than most sports:
- Down and distance (1st & 10, 3rd & 7, etc.)
- Possession indicator showing which team has the ball
- Timeouts remaining for each team
- Play clock on some broadcasts
- Red zone indicator when teams are inside the 20
The NFL scorebug has become increasingly sophisticated. Networks like CBS and Fox constantly refine their designs — CBS redesigned theirs for the 2025 season with larger score fonts and moved fantasy stats to a separate element.
Basketball Scorebugs
- Shot clock (separate from game clock)
- Team fouls
- Bonus indicators
- Possession arrow
- See our full basketball scoring guide
Baseball Scorebugs
- Current inning
- Outs (usually shown as dots or small circles)
- Base runners (diamond graphic showing occupied bases)
- Pitch count
- Balls and strikes
- See our baseball scoring guide
Other Sports
- Tennis: Sets won, games in current set, serve indicator, tiebreak scores
- Volleyball: Set scores, points in current set, serve indicator
- Hockey: Period, power play indicators, shots on goal (on some broadcasts)
- Soccer: Match time, added time, aggregate scores in tournament play
NFL Scorebugs: A Closer Look
The NFL scorebug gets more attention than any other sports graphic. Fans have strong opinions about them — just look at the debates when networks change their designs.
CBS Scorebug
The CBS scorebug ranks among fan favorites for its clean design. Their 2025 redesign enlarged the score font significantly and removed clutter. The solid background keeps everything readable regardless of what's happening on the field behind it — a common complaint about some competitors.
CBS calls their scorebug the "Eyebar." It sits at the top of the screen and includes down/distance, timeouts, and possession without feeling crowded.
Fox Scorebug
Fox pioneered the modern scorebug with the "Fox Box" in 1994. Their current design uses transparency effects that some viewers find difficult to read depending on the background. When the action happens to line up behind the scorebug, the scores can get lost.
NBC and ESPN
NBC's Sunday Night Football scorebug takes a minimalist approach. ESPN varies their design across different broadcasts — Monday Night Football gets a different treatment than college games.
Where Did the Term "Scorebug" Come From?
Nobody knows for certain. Two theories circulate:
Corner bug theory: The graphic sits in a corner of the screen like bugs do in window corners. Network logos are sometimes called "bugs" for the same reason — they're small graphics that stay in one spot.
Industry slang theory: Broadcast engineers called small persistent graphics "bugs" long before scorebugs existed. The score version just inherited the name.
History: When Did Scorebugs Start?
Sports broadcasts didn't always have scorebugs. Before 1992, networks showed the score only during breaks — you'd see it going to commercial and coming back, but not during play.
David Hill changed that. As head of Sky Sports in the UK, Hill got frustrated tuning into matches and not knowing the score. He added a persistent score graphic to a Premier League broadcast in 1992. His supervisor called it "the stupidest thing he had ever seen."
Two years later, Hill moved to Fox in the US and introduced the "Fox Box" for NFL coverage in 1994. Other networks followed within a few years.
The evolution happened quickly:
- 1992-1995: Simple text overlays, manually updated
- 1995-2000: Automated feeds from stadium scoring systems
- 2000-2010: Team logos, animations, enhanced statistics
- 2010-present: Fantasy integrations, betting lines, social media elements
Scorebug Software and Templates
Professional broadcast scorebugs cost serious money — the systems major networks use run $5,000 to $50,000 or more. But you don't need that kind of budget anymore.
Affordable Scorebug Tools
You don't need broadcast-grade equipment anymore. KeepTheScore provides web-based scoreboards that work as OBS browser sources. No software to install — update scores from your phone and they appear instantly in your stream. It works with any streaming software that supports browser sources.
What You Need
Creating a scorebug for your stream requires:
- Streaming software: OBS Studio, Streamlabs, vMix, or similar
- A scoring tool: Web-based scoreboard or scorebug software
- Stable internet: For cloud-based solutions that sync in real-time
- Basic setup knowledge: Adding browser sources to your streaming software
That's it. You don't need expensive graphics packages or broadcast engineering degrees.
Creating Your Own Scorebug
Here's the quick version:
- Click the button above to create a scoreboard
- Select your sport (this configures the right fields automatically)
- Customize colors and layout to match your stream
- Copy the browser source URL
- Add it as an overlay in OBS or your streaming software
The mobile control piece matters. You can update scores from courtside, from the press box, or from wherever you're watching — changes appear instantly in the stream. Multiple people can have access too, so your color commentator can update while you handle camera work.
Platform Integration
We have specific guides for different streaming setups:
- General streaming software setup
- OBS Studio configuration
- Basketball OBS overlay with shot clock and bonus tracking
- Streamlabs setup
Why Bother?
A scorebug transforms how your stream looks. Compare a raw game feed to one with professional-looking graphics showing teams, scores, and game state. Even for a youth soccer game or local pickleball tournament, that overlay signals "this is a real broadcast" to viewers.
Family watching from out of state? They can follow along without constant "what's the score?" texts. Trying to attract sponsors for your community league stream? Professional presentation helps.
The gap between major network broadcasts and what anyone can do from a laptop has narrowed dramatically. You won't match ESPN's production, but you can get surprisingly close on the scorebug front.
Beyond Sports
The scorebug concept appears outside sports too:
- Financial news: Stock tickers and market indices
- Election coverage: Vote counts and projected winners
- Esports: Player health, resources, kill counts
- Reality TV: Competition standings and elimination info
Any situation where viewers need persistent, updating information benefits from the same approach.
