News Channel 3 Knowledge Bowl is a quiz bowl program created by WREG-TV in Memphis, Tennessee. It first aired in 1987 for the 1987–88 school year.[1] The format is similar to a quiz show, in which teams come from 32 high schools around the Mid-South to participate. Contests between schools take place throughout the school year. Knowledge Bowl participants earn prizes depending on their standings.
Each game starts out with two teams with four contestants on each team. Two rounds lasting seven minutes are played when toss-up questions are asked dealing with many subjects. If a team member gets a question right, they get a bonus question to answer in which the team can discuss. If a team member gets a toss-up question wrong, the question goes to the other team to answer. If one of them gets it right, then that team gets a bonus question. Toss ups are worth 10 points and bonuses are worth 20 points. Points are not taken away for incorrect answers to toss up or bonus questions; however, if someone buzzes in too early with an incorrect response, a five-point penalty is assessed. In between the two rounds, an interview session is done with the contestants. After the second round, a "Lightning Round" composing of current events questions takes place. During this round, only toss ups are asked to save time. This round is dubbed as the "Fastest Four Minutes In Television." Whoever has the highest point total at the end of the game wins and advances in the next round.
For 18 years (1987–2005), co-founder Kyle Rote Jr., the son of Kyle Rote, hosted the show. WREG-TV meteorologist Jim Jaggers took Rote's place in 2006.
According to the program's website, Knowledge Bowl and its sponsors have given away more than $3 million in college scholarships over 20 seasons, which is an average of $150,000 for each season. Scholarships are distributed in the following manner:
In addition to scholarships, participants attend a banquet in their honor every year after taping is complete. The winning schools are honored with trophies and every participant is given a gift from WREG-TV and their sponsors.
Knowledge Bowl airs every Saturday morning on WREG-TV Channel 3 between 9:00 and 9:30 AM during the school year. It re-airs on News Channel 3 Anytime (Channel 3.2). Sister station WHNT in Huntsville, Alabama, also airs the show on its digital sub-channel (WHNT-DT2 19.2) and usually broadcasts them more than one at a time from 8:30 to 11:30.