Bill Simmons Joins HBO, Starts In October

The Sports Guy has found a new home. After Bill Simmons’ somewhat acrimonious break-up with ESPN, he was a highly coveted free agent for a few months. Speculation was that he might land at Fox Sports or some outlet more directly connected with sports, but instead, he’s headed to HBO.

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The New York Times, among other outlets, broke the news that Simmons will start with HBO in October, gearing up for a talk show that he’ll begin hosting next year. He’ll also do video podcasts and have a production deal, which makes sense since his “30 for 30” films brought a lot of attention and prestige to ESPN during his time there.

What it doesn’t sound like he’ll be doing is writing much. That’s no surprise since Simmons has long since abandoned anything but the occasional foray into the craft that first got him his start as the Boston Sports Guy years ago, but it is a bit of a bummer since that’s still what many of his fans think he does best. Indeed, Simmons is widely credited with being the first person to elevate the art of sports blogging, writing about teams and games from a fan’s perspective to fill in the gaps left by traditional media.

Nevertheless, Simmons has always had an interest in the wider world of pop culture beyond sports, which he and his staff at Grantland had been exploring for the last few years. He’ll no doubt get every opportunity to explore those overlapping spaces at HBO, which is no stranger to dabbling in both worlds itself.

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