Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation Entertainment has bought into Headline Media Group and inked a broadcast deal with hmgi’s specialty sports channel The Score.

Based in Stamford, Connecticut, wwfe has purchased 222,223 class a subordinate voting shares of hmgi, with the option to purchase 5,005,777 more (10% of issued and outstanding shares) by February 2002.

The Score agreement gives the Toronto-based specialty Canadian broadcast rights to the weekly wrestling shows WWF Smackdown! and WWF Metal and to some Xtreme Football League games.

WWF Smackdown! originates on upn and is the net’s highest rated show in the illusive demographic of males 18-34 and males 18-49. The wrestling portion of the deal is for three years, with an option to extend the contract for an additional two years.

The Score hopes for similar ratings results when the first xfl season begins in February (the week after the nfl’s Superbowl). The two-year xfl deal gives The Score rights to the league’s Sunday night games leading up to the xfl championship, to be played out April 14, 2001.

Score president John Levy says sports updates and ‘the ticker’ will continue to run throughout wwf and xfl programming.

Levy says he is excited about the prospects of the wwfe partnership. ‘It is unprecedented to have a programming partner – a sports league – that is taking an equity position in a network,’ says Levy. ‘We are very excited about the confidence the wwf has shown in our network. The Score is committed to growth and…we’ve taken some pretty bold steps to do that. [This] is just another example of that.’

Alliance Atlantis Communications holds a 40% interest in The Score. *