Two months after ESPN let Bill Simmons go, the Grantland founder and prolific sports opiner has landed at HBO. The network released a statement today saying it signed Simmons to a “major new multi-year, multi-platform exclusive agreement anchored by an all-new HBO series to launch in 2016.â€
The word anchored implies that Simmons will do more than host a TV show and the statement mentions a few of those things, including audio and video podcasts, along with shows and documentaries. As for his talk show, it will air weekly and “feature stories and guests from across the sports and cultural landscape.†The one thing the statement does not mention is Simmons’s writing. CNN media reporter Brian Stelter tweets that “it’s likely†he will “write columns/have a web site affiliated with HBO.â€
“It’s no secret that HBO is the single best place for creative people in the entire media landscape,†Simmons says in the statement. “From the moment I started talking to Michael and Richard (Plepler), it was hard to imagine being anywhere else.â€