"It's not TV. It's HBO." That's the tagline that HBO has used for years, and now it might fully be living up to it.
Sports commentator and superstar Bill Simmons has signed a multi-year agreement with HBO that will include a weekly series as well as video podcasts and other content for its digital platforms.
The deal, announced on Wednesday, marks one of the most ambitious moves in the history of HBO, which has been working to turn itself from a premium cable channel into a more expansive media company. HBO will now be the exclusive platform for Simmons.
[seealso slug=http://sale-online.click/2015/05/08/bill-simmons/%5D%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAt ESPN, Simmons started as a columnist but grew to become one of the company's most recognizable figures as well as the source of its most critically acclaimed content, including the sports and media site Grantland and the "30 for 30" documentary series.
“We have been fans of Bill Simmons and his work for a very long time," said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, in a statement. "His intelligence, talent and insights are without precedent in the areas he covers. We could not be more thrilled for him to bring those talents to HBO and to become a signature voice at the network, spanning the sports and pop culture landscapes."
HBO has previously covered sports, primarily boxing, and through its award-winning show "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel."
"It’s no secret that HBO is the single best place for creative people in the entire media landscape,” Simmons said in a statement. “From the moment I started talking to Michael [Lombardo] and Richard [Plepler, HBO chairman and CEO], it was hard to imagine being anywhere else.”
Simmons's relationship with ESPN came to a sudden end in May when the company's president, John Skipper, announced that it would not renew his contract. Simmons had a testy relationship with ESPN, including a lengthy suspension in September 2014 for criticizing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and then challenging the company to suspend him.
Simmons announced his new deal with HBO in a very Simmons way on Twitter:
http://t.co/u9vEN0Ey05— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 22, 2015
It was not immediately clear if Simmons would do any writing or develop a website for HBO. At ESPN, Simmons had continued to write but also begun to do more television appearances, including hosting a basketball-centric show and producing a popular podcast.