Apple reportedly sought exclusive rights to new Bill Simmons podcast
Coming to Apple this fall: the new iBill podcast featuring Bill Simmons? Seems like it actually came fairly close to happening.
According to a report on Tuesday by Peter Kafka of Re/code, the tech giant explored the possibility this summer of inking The Sports Guy to an exclusive podcast deal as part of a campaign to produce more original programming.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, was said to be the driving force behind the pursuit of Simmons, but talks reportedly failed to progress past the preliminary stage.
The 45-year-old Simmons, one of the most polarizing figures in the sports media today, had a well-publicized breakup with longtime employer ESPN earlier this year. He ultimately wound up signing a multi-year agreement with HBO and will host a weekly podcast there starting this October.
FYI: my podcast returns on October 1st. New name, new sponsors.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) August 24, 2015
In the end, I’m glad that Apple failed in their quest to land Simmons. His new environment at HBO will allow Simmons the liberty of being his raunchy, uncensored self, which is a big part of what makes him such an entertaining personality. That’s galaxies better than the slave to the corporate machine that Tim Cook and Co. likely would have tried to turn Simmons into. Chalk this one up as a victory, sports fans.
