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Simmons' Taped HBO Show To Feature Hard-Take Intro, Two Interviews, No Audience

Bill Simmons' tenure at HBO will "formally begin" on June 22 with the launch of "Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons," which will initially feature "a mix of his hard takes and interviews," according to a cover story by Lacey Rose of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Simmons: "It'll be conversations about sports, culture and technology, and then me being a snarky asshole." But Rose notes the show's format is "subject to change, particularly as its host gets more comfortable with the role of television personality." The plan at launch is to "open with Simmons offering a hard angle on an of-the-moment sports or pop culture subject before moving on to the two interviews and a sign-off that he's keeping under wraps." The show's first interview segment will "feature two guests on a given topic," while the second will "focus on just one guest, ideally from the world of sports, tech or Hollywood." Simmons "envisions running each at about 10 to 12 minutes, though he intends to tape them much longer the day before in a bid to get the most out of his guests." Simmons had to "convince HBO to let him do the show taped rather than run it live and not in front of a studio audience." His argument "was simple: He's not a performer or a stand-up, and he'll be considerably more comfortable if it's just him and his guests, as it has been on his podcasts."

BRANCHING OUT: Sources said that HBO is paying Simmons between $7-9M, a "nice boost" from the $5M he "made at ESPN." Additionally, HBO "would agree to be a minority investor" in the Bill Simmons Media Group (BSMG), which includes his podcast network and The Ringer, a web site that launched last week. Simmons for the time being has "taken no other outside investment, using what insiders describe as seven-figure revenue generated primarily by sponsorship and branding deals to help fund The Ringer side of the enterprise." Looking ahead, he and BSMG President Eric Weinberger "won't rule out taking on additional investors." Meanwhile, Simmons in the interview continued to bash his former employer. He said of ESPN, "They've now gotten rid of everybody who is a little off the beaten path. Ask yourself this: 'Who would work there that you respect right now?'" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/17 issue).

ON SECOND THOUGHT: Simmons on his Instagram page yesterday posted an apology for his comments about ESPN. Simmons in part wrote, "I feel terrible that one particular quote came out in a way that didn’t portray how I actually feel about the dozens of people that passed through my life when I worked there (many of whom are still there). It’s 100 percent my fault -- I’m sure I was trying to make some larger point and screwed it up because I suck at giving interviews. ... My apologies for being a jackass" (THE DAILY).

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