EXCLUSIVE: Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel is coming to an end after nearly 30 years. The long-running investigative sports series will end with its current season on HBO.
Gumbel, who has been hosting the show since April 1995, said that his nearly three decade run has been “very gratifying”.
“Since day one at Real Sports we’ve consistently tried to look beyond the scoreboard, and focus instead on the many societal issues inherent in the world of sports. In the process we’ve had the opportunity to tell complex stories about race, gender, class, opportunity and so much more. Being able to do so at HBO for almost 3 decades has been very gratifying. I’m proud of the imprint we’ve made, so I’m ready to turn the page. Although goodbyes are never easy, I’ve decided that now’s the time to move on,” Gumbel said.
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The show has received 37 Sports Emmy Awards and 3 Peabodys, while Gumbel received the Sports Emmys Lifetime Achievement earlier this year.
Stories broken by Gumbel during his Real Sports run have included exposing a child slavery ring in the USA where five-year-old boys were forced to race camels, investigations into the International Olympic Committee, the police shooting of a teen boy and Shaquille O’Neal’s revelation that he has made more money per year from endorsements than he did from his NBA career.
Gumbel was co-host of NBC’s NFL pre-game show GrandStand between 1975 and 1982 before becoming a co-host of NBC’s Today. He subsequently moved to CBS to co-host The Early Show.
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, which is executive produced by Joe Perskie, has run for over 300 episodes.
Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, said “For 29 seasons, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel has delivered a masterclass in sports storytelling, garnering 37 Sports Emmy Awards and 3 Peabody awards in the process. As the longest running HBO series, Bryant and his Real Sports team have long been a cornerstone of HBO programming. The series will continue to resonate in the realm of sports journalism, and we are so proud to have been part of such a remarkable odyssey.”
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