Bill Simmons is the biggest free agent in the sports media world, and it sounds like he has a potential new deal on his hands.
The Hollywood Reporter published an article Wednesday about HBO’s future plans, and one thing they mention is how the network is in talks with Simmons, who is done with ESPN.
THR mentions that HBO is hoping to land a deal with Simmons:
On June 21, HBO will add a pair of testosterone-fueled new editions — Dwayne Johnson’s sports dramedy Ballers and the Jack Black-Tim Robbins political half-hour The Brink — along with a second installment of the drama juggernaut True Detective. And the network will ramp up from there, with plans for more of the addictive Robert Durst docuseries, a not-yet-announced 1970s porn drama from The Wire’s David Simon and, if all goes as planned, a platform for ESPN cast-off Bill Simmons. While HBO executives are staying mum, multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the network is in talks for a major multipart deal with the biggest media personality in sports (more on that later).
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Considerably more likely is Simmons, whom the network is said to have made a big play for after his unceremonious booting from the more corporate ESPN. Such a move would be straight out of the HBO playbook, which famously provided a creative reprieve for former ABC flameout Bill Maher many years earlier. Though Simmons is said to have several suitors, insiders say conversations at HBO have focused on a TV show — something Simmons is believed to want — along with heavy digital extensions that make the prolific personality tailor-made for the HBO Now era.
What’s interesting is that there is no mention of Simmons doing any writing. Though he has become well known for his role on ESPN’s NBA TV coverage as well as his podcast, his column and writing at Grantland was always the backbone of what he did. Maybe this deal will be for his media work not including writing.
Whatever Simmons does, I hope he brings the same sort of innovation that he did at ESPN when it came to his creation of the “30 for 30” series. That remains one of my favorite things ESPN has produced.
