Yahoo Finance Bob Costas Returns to HBO for Sports Interview Series
Bob Costas will return to HBO to host a new sports-interview series, more than a decade after leaving the WarnerMedia outlet to take up duties at MLB Network.
“Back on the Record With Bob Costas” will debut later this spring on HBO, and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
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The program, a play on Costas’ old HBO series, “On the Record,” will air four episodes each year. They will feature in-depth interviews with figures from the worlds of sports, entertainment and popular culture, as well as discussions led by Costas that tackle current issues in sports. Costas will stay with MLB Network, which he joined in 2009, to handle play-by-play duties and taped programming specials. He also serves as a contributor to WarnerMedia’s CNN.
“HBO is synonymous with the highest quality of television programming,” said Costas in a statement. “And their sports programming has always been both innovative and thoughtful. For those reasons and more, I am very pleased to again be part of HBO.”
“On the Record” ran on HBO approximately 12 times a year starting in 2001 before it was revamped as “Costas Now.” He won seven Sports Emmys during his tenure at the premium cable outlet. Costas left HBO because his MLB Network contract demanded a certain degree of exclusivity.
The new program could include “extended conversations with the biggest names in sports, from present-day superstars to legends of the past to commissioners and other newsmakers from the sports landscape; roundtable discussions with compelling figures from the sports world and beyond; and signature commentaries from Costas himself that capture his distinctive voice and point of view,” according to HBO.
Costas, a legendary sportscaster, has been able to make the jump to cultural commentator. In addition to calling baseball games and anchoring NBCUniversal’s Olympics coverage for years, he hosted a late-night NBC talk show and filled in for Larry King on CNN. He has proven to be an influential voice in the worlds of sports and entertainment, criticizing football and even discussing subjects ranging from gun culture and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“Bob has long been one of the most talented and versatile broadcasters in the world of sports and entertainment, and we are thrilled for his return to HBO,” said Nina Rosenstein, executive vice president of programming, HBO, in a statement.
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