AFTER ESPN, A PRIME SPOT ON HBO
‘The Sports Guy’ Bill Simmons has a multiyear deal that includes a TV series.
Former ESPN columnist and provocateur Bill Simmons has landed at HBO.
The premium cable network announced Wednesday that it had signed a multiyear deal with Simmons that will include a weekly TV series starting in 2016. He also will develop documentary films and a podcast for HBO’s digital platforms.
Simmons, 45, is a bestselling author and founder of the popular ESPN sports and pop culture website Grantland. He also helped develop ESPN’s acclaimed “30 for 30” documentary series.
Dubbed “The Sports Guy,” Simmons became a major multimedia star during his run at ESPN, which began in 2001 after he established himself as a passionate, highly opinionated sports blogger in Boston. His irreverent style, displayed in his writing and his podcast “The B.S. Report,” brought him a significant following among younger sports fans.
He has more than 4 million followers on Twitter. On Wednesday, he tweeted a link to a YouTube video of HBO’s “Feature Presentation” opening from 1983.
“It’s as perfect a spot for Simmons as you can imagine,” said Michael McCarthy, an adjunct professor at the Rutgers University School of Communications and Information. “It has a long history of allowing people to do what they want to do.”
Despite Simmons’ stat-
ure and influence among sports fans, ESPN chose not to renew his contract, which was set to expire later this year. The Disney-owned company let him walk out the door in May, one of three high-profile departures from its ranks in recent months. Keith Olbermann is exiting at the end of July and Colin Cowherd is heading to Fox Sports.
Simmons was suspended last year by ESPN for harsh comments he made about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell over his handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case. (He dared his bosses to suspend him for his remarks, and they obliged.) The move had some observers wondering whether the channel no longer tolerated on-air critics of its league partners. ESPN carries the NFL’s highly rated Monday Night Football package.
Controversial comments are not likely to be an issue for Simmons at HBO. The channel is home to comedians Bill Maher and John Oliver, both of whom have proved to be fearless in confronting politics and policy issues on their shows. The channel also carries “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,” one of the few television forums for investigative sports journalism.
Simmons’ suitors reportedly included 21st Century Fox’s cable channel Fox Sports 1, which is looking to build into a serious competitor to ESPN. There was also talk of venture capital firms setting up Simmons in his own media entity.
With that level of demand, McCarthy thinks it’s likely Simmons got his asking price, said to top the $5 million he made yearly at ESPN. “I think he got what he was looking for,” McCarthy said.
Terms of Simmons’ HBO deal were not disclosed.
Simmons’ HBO show could premiere next spring and will likely have about 20 episodes in its first year. It will be a mix of sports and popular culture, and will shoot in Los Angeles, where Simmons is based.