Costas Now, New HBO Sports Program Hosted By Acclaimed Broadcaster Bob Costas, To Launch May 13

April 05, 2005

NEW YORK - One of the most accomplished broadcasters of his generation, Bob Costas begins his fifth year at HBO with the new show COSTAS NOW, debuting FRIDAY, MAY 13 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) exclusively on HBO. Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein will serve as executive producers of the program, which will draw on the talents of HBO Sports' Peabody- and Emmy(r)-winning production department.

Appearing monthly, the one-hour sports magazine program will incorporate some of the signature elements from "On the Record with Bob Costas," which captured three Sports Emmy(r) Awards in its four years on HBO.

In addition, COSTAS NOW will focus on the fast-breaking, topical news stories that continually emerge in today's sports arena. Production elements will include one-on-one interviews with sports figures in the news; hot-button newsmaker issues; enterprising journalistic and feature stories; essays and commentaries from Costas; and a sprinkling of humor and history. "COSTAS NOW will be the monthly destination for sports fans who want meaningful reporting and in-depth analysis and commentary on the hottest and biggest sports subjects," says Ross Greenburg, president, HBO Sports. "The monthly format enables us to do topical stories in a substantive and unique style."

In April 2004, Costas was honored with the Sports Emmy(r) Award in the category of Outstanding Studio Host for the third consecutive year, marking his 16th career Emmy(r). The recently announced Sports Emmy(r) nominations for the past programming year include a nomination for Costas in the category Outstanding Sports Personality - Studio Host for his work on both HBO and NBC.

In addition to hosting COSTAS NOW, Costas will continue his co-host role on HBO's award-winning "Inside the NFL" when it returns for its 29th season in the fall.

"One of the most rewarding aspects of working at HBO is being part of television that is both entertaining and thoughtful," says Costas. "The one-hour format gives us the opportunity to treat serious topics with appropriate depth and still have plenty of fun with the offbeat stuff. There is a great deal of sports TV out there right now. What we've been able to do is to come at sports in a different way. An approach that works for me and HBO."

Over the past three decades, HBO Sports has earned a reputation as sports television's best storyteller. The acclaimed "Sports of the 20th Century" documentary series has received six George F. Peabody Awards for broadcast excellence. In addition to COSTAS NOW, HBO Sports' programming includes: three boxing series, "World Championship Boxing," "HBO Boxing After Dark" and "HBO Pay-Per-View"; "Inside the NFL," cable's longest-running series, entering in its 29th season in the fall; and "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," the monthly sports journalism program that has earned 13 Sports Emmy(r) Awards.