HBO Enters Exclusive Partnership with Bill Simmons

LOS ANGELES: HBO has signed a multiyear, multiplatform agreement with sports media figure Bill Simmons that is led by a new weekly series slated for broadcast next year.

HBO will be the exclusive TV home for Simmons. The deal, which takes effect in October, will involve a comprehensive partnership on various platforms between the channel and Simmons. It will include, among other elements, a topical talk show that is set to launch in 2016 on the main HBO service as well as on HBO GO and HBO NOW. The series will feature stories and guests from the worlds of sports and culture.

Simmons will also produce content and assets for the network and its digital platforms, providing video podcasts and features. He will additionally consult with HBO Sports, collaborating with President Ken Hershman on non-boxing-related content, including the development of shows and documentary films for the channel.

Throughout his career, Simmons has been a sports columnist, television host and analyst. He is a New York Times best-selling author (The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy), an Emmy-winning documentary film exec and podcaster. He is also the founding editor of Grantland.com, a website that has been nominated for multiple National Magazine Awards. He spent nearly a decade and a half writing the "Sports Guy" column for ESPN.

"We have been fans of Bill Simmons and his work for a very long time," said Michael Lombardo, the president of HBO Programming. "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."

"It's no secret that HBO is the single best place for creative people in the entire media landscape," added Simmons. "From the moment I started talking to Michael and Richard [Plepler, HBO's chairman and CEO], it was hard to imagine being anywhere else."