HBO Canceled Bill Simmons' Any Given Wednesday
By Ty Duffy
HBO announced that it has canceled Bill Simmons’ “Any Given Wednesday. ” Next week’s episode on Nov. 9 will be the show’s last.
Simmons released the following statement through HBO PR.
"“One of the many reasons I joined HBO was to see if we could create a show built around smart conversations for sports fans and pop culture junkies. We loved making that show, but unfortunately it never resonated with audiences like we hoped. And that’s on me. But I love being a part of HBO’s family and look forward to innovating with them on other ambitious programming ideas over these next several years – both for the network and for digital. With that said, I want to thank the dedicated staff that worked so diligently with me behind the scenes to make this show every week – we hired so many great and talented people and I loved having them in my life. It’s difficult for me to imagine not working with them anymore.”"
HBO pledged to “continue working closely” with Simmons and “bringing his unique vision to bear on an array of new programming initiatives.” It will be interesting to see whether the next venture has him in a prominent on-air role.
Simmons has a reported contract worth more than $20 million with HBO. HBO also has an undisclosed stake in The Ringer.