Bryant Gumbel Maintains Relevance of HBO’s ‘Real Sports’ in Changing Media Industry

When NBC moved Bryant Gumbel from hosting sports to the “Today” show in 1982, some viewers couldn’t see him making the switch.

“There were a lot of people saying, ‘Oh my God, how is he going to talk to presidents and prime ministers? He’s never talked to anyone smarter than a linebacker,'” Gumbel recalled this week.

But he figured no matter who he was interviewing, the basics were the same: ask smart questions and make sure the answers are clear to viewers.

With this simple game plan, Gumbel was a smash hit, hosting “Today” for 15 years. He carried that success into his next big thing, hosting HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” which premiered in 1995. In his 28^and season, the show celebrated its 300^and Tuesday episode. It is available to stream on HBO Max.

“It’s very rewarding,” said Gumbel, 73. “I’ve never made a secret that this is the best show I’ve ever worked on. I attribute it to a lot of good people who worked really hard to make it possible. I’m glad there’s still room in the American landscape for a good smart TV.

“Real Sports” is a sophisticated sports program in an industry that lacks it. Rather than shouting thoughts and opinions in your face, Gumbel does what he’s always done: speak eloquently, explain facts and provide perspective. He is one of the few broadcasters able to navigate between news and sports.

Gumbel has kept “Real Sports” in the consciousness of sports fans despite an evolving media landscape. Competition for consumers has intensified and there is more instant media available. How did a magazine-style monthly show stay relevant?

“At the risk of oversimplifying,” Gumbel said, “I would say we stayed consistent in what we wanted to try to do, which is to tell good cultural stories with sport as the centerpiece and try to make them with a professionalism degree and never try to make it look stupid for the public.

“I always say our show is about sports like ‘Rocky’ was about boxing. ‘Rocky’ was about self-esteem, opportunity, class struggle, economics, education. proved to be the vehicle that gave us the opportunity to explore all of these elements, and that’s what we use sport for.

The show also made changes. A segment in 2004 revealed boys in the United Arab Emirates being forcibly taken to be camel jockeys. They lived in horrific conditions and many were killed or paralyzed during competitions. The practice became illegal because of the exposure.

“Real Sports” can tackle difficult subjects because it has no affiliation. The show and HBO don’t have league relationships, they don’t have sponsors, and they aren’t driven by ratings.

“Two of the worst words in modern sports television are ‘broadcast partner,'” Gumbel said. “I’ve been on the other side of that, having worked at NBC for 25 years and having worked at CBS, and I’m aware of the boundaries that are exercised because you have a relationship with leagues or with sponsors.”

Gumbel and his brother, Greg, who works for CBS Sports, grew up in Hyde Park and graduated from the De La Salle Institute. They have such similar behaviors and styles that viewers might think it’s inherent. But while Greg said he was influenced by his broadcasting peers, Bryant’s influence came home.

“I always said I was my father’s son,” Gumbel said. “And I’ve always tried to conduct myself that way. He was in every way a better person, a smarter person, a harder working person than I could ever hope to be. And I wanted to make his memory proud and be like him.

Richard Gumbel was a World War II veteran and judge from Chicago who enrolled in college and law school. He died of a heart attack in his courtroom in April 1972, six months before Bryant became a sportscaster at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles.

“My only regret is that my dad died before I got on the air,” Gumbel said. “He never had the chance to see anything. I never had the chance to let him enjoy the many things I couldn’t have learned without him.

This fall, Gumbel will have spent 50 years on television. He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down and he doesn’t know when he will stop. Gumbel still has a year and a half left on his HBO contract, at the end of which he will be 74 years old.

“Hopefully I still have all my marbles, hopefully I’ll still be healthy,” Gumbel said. “But on television, as in sport, we prefer to leave a year earlier than a day late. And I never want to be the guy that was Bryant Gumbel again. I will evaluate it in a year and a half and see what happens.

Remote Patrol

• Game 3 of the Bulls-Bucks series on Friday will air on NBC Sports Chicago and ABC 7. ESPN puts its best crew on the game – Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and Lisa Salers. Sunday’s Game 4 will air exclusively on ABC 7. david pasch, Hubie Brown and Malika Andrews will call him.
• The White Sox-Twins game on Saturday will air on NBCSCH and FS1, which will broadcast it nationally. Aaron Goldsmithformer cub Eric Karros and Ken Rosenthal will have the call.
• For those still interested, Monday’s Blackhawks game against the Flyers is exclusive to ESPN+ and Hulu.