HBO cancelled Bill Simmons’ talk show, “Any Given Wednesday,” making the announcement in a Friday afternoon email. The show’s final episode will be this coming Wednesday. The network described the decision as “mutual.” In a prepared statement, Simmons blamed low viewership as the primary reason for ending the show, which bottomed out with 82,000 viewers on Oct. 26 and prompted Fox Sports’ Mike Mulvihill to tweet that it was “HBO’s 2nd least watched original primetime program this year.” Simmons: “We loved making that show, but unfortunately it never resonated with audiences like we hoped.”
Simmons, who still is under contract to HBO, said he plans to develop more TV and digital shows for the media company “over these next several years.” HBO Sports Exec VP Peter Nelson: “HBO is committed to Bill Simmons, and we are excited to bring his unique vision to bear on an array of new programming initiatives under the HBO Sports banner in 2017. Bill is an award-winning executive producer in the documentary arena, and we will work closely with him in developing new and engaging content for our subscribers.”
