Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Bill Simmons
How Bill Simmons built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.
Bill Simmons is a prominent American sportswriter, podcaster, and cultural commentator. He rose to fame as "The Boston Sports Guy" before joining ESPN in 2001. During his tenure at ESPN, he contributed to ESPN.com, hosted the popular podcast "The B.S. Report", and served as an NBA Countdown analyst. In 2015, he left ESPN and founded The Ringer, a successful sports and pop culture website, where he currently serves as CEO. Simmons is known for his unique blend of sports analysis, pop culture references, and personal anecdotes, establishing him as a significant voice in sports media.
1997: Started at Digital City Boston and BostonSportsGuy.com
In 1997, Bill Simmons started writing a column for Digital City Boston of AOL and launched the website BostonSportsGuy.com.
November 1998: Website Available on the Web
In November 1998, Bill Simmon's website became available on the web.
2001: Website Popularity
By 2001, Bill Simmon's website averaged 10,000 readers and 45,000 hits per day.
2002: Started Writing for ESPN The Magazine
In 2002, Bill Simmons began writing a bi-weekly 800-word column for ESPN The Magazine.
2002: Offer to Write for Jimmy Kimmel Live!
In the summer of 2002, Jimmy Kimmel tried to get Bill Simmons to write for his new late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!
April 2003: Started Working for Jimmy Kimmel Live!
In April 2003, Bill Simmons began working as a comedy writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2004: Online Cartoon Launch and Stop
In late 2004, ESPN launched an online cartoon based on Bill Simmons' columns, which Simmons later called a "debacle" and decided to stop.
2004: Left Jimmy Kimmel Live!
In the spring of 2004, Bill Simmons left Jimmy Kimmel Live! after a year and a half of writing for the show.
2004: "Now I Can Die in Peace" Content
The book "Now I Can Die in Peace", released in 2005 by Bill Simmons, is a collection of his columns with minor changes and lengthy footnotes, leading up to the 2004 World Series victory by the Boston Red Sox.
October 1, 2005: Released "Now I Can Die in Peace"
On October 1, 2005, Bill Simmons released his first New York Times best-selling book, Now I Can Die in Peace.
2005: Column Readership
In 2005, Bill Simmons' column averaged 500,000 unique visitors a month, according to ESPN.
May 8, 2007: Started Eye of the Sportsguy Podcast
On May 8, 2007, Bill Simmons began a podcast for ESPN.com called Eye of the Sportsguy.
June 14, 2007: Podcast Changed to The B.S. Report
On June 14, 2007, the Bill Simmons' podcast was changed to The B.S. Report with a new theme song written by Ronald Jenkees.
October 2007: Joined E:60
In October 2007, Bill Simmons joined the television series E:60 as a special contributor.
2007: Conceived 30 for 30
In 2007, Bill Simmons and Connor Schell conceived the idea for 30 for 30, a series of documentaries commemorating the 30th year of the "ESPN era."
2007: Named Influential Person in Online Sports
In 2007, Bill Simmons was named the 12th-most influential person in online sports by the Sports Business Journal, which was the highest position for a non-executive.
May 2008: Dispute with ESPN Management
In May 2008, Bill Simmons was in a dispute with ESPN.com management. He stated to Deadspin that he was writing less because the agreement he had with ESPN on creative lines, media criticism rules, and the promotion of his column had changed within a few months.
July 2008: Simmons Takes a Break to Write Book
In July 2008, Bill Simmons announced he would take a 10-week break from writing columns for ESPN.com's Page 2 to focus on completing his second book, "The Book of Basketball".
November 2008: Simmons Quits B.S. Report Due to Corporate Interference
In November 2008, Bill Simmons quit the B.S. Report due to corporate interference with his writing. The controversy centered on the admission of a pornstar into an ESPN fantasy basketball league. Simmons was upset that his explanation of ESPN's refusal to allow him into the league was edited out of a podcast.
November 25, 2008: Return to Recording B.S. Report Podcast with Disclaimer
On November 25, 2008, Bill Simmons resumed recording his B.S. Report podcast with a disclaimer: "The BS Report is a free flowing conversation that occasionally touches on mature subjects."
July 27, 2009: Retired from ESPN The Magazine
On July 27, 2009, Bill Simmons announced his retirement from ESPN The Magazine but continued to write for the Page 2 website.
October 6, 2009: 30 for 30 Series Premiere
On October 6, 2009, the 30 for 30 series premiered with "King's Ransom", directed by Peter Berg.
October 27, 2009: Release of "The Book of Basketball"
On October 27, 2009, Bill Simmons' second book, "The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy," was released, attempting to identify the best NBA players and teams of all time and answering significant "What ifs?" in NBA history. The book debuted at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list for non-fiction books.
November 2009: Column Readership Statistics
Between June and November 2009, Bill Simmons' column averaged 1.4 million pageviews and 460,000 unique visitors a month, according to comScore.
2009: The B.S. Report Downloads
In 2009, The B.S. Report was downloaded more than 25.4 million times.
2009: MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
Since 2009, Bill Simmons has been a moderator and panelist at the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
May 2010: New Contract with ESPN
In May 2010, it was reported that Bill Simmons and ESPN came to an agreement on a new contract.
2010: Working on Top Secret Editorial Project
In 2010, Sports blog Deadspin reported that Bill Simmons was working on a "top secret editorial project."
June 8, 2011: Grantland Launched
On June 8, 2011, Grantland, a website owned by ESPN covering sports and pop culture, was launched with Bill Simmons serving as editor-in-chief.
August 2014: Leaving NBA Countdown to Produce Grantland Show
In August 2014, ESPN announced that Bill Simmons would be leaving NBA Countdown in order to produce an 18 episode primetime show for ESPN through his site called The Grantland Basketball Show.
October 21, 2014: The Grantland Basketball Hour Debut
On October 21, 2014, The Grantland Basketball Show, later changed to The Grantland Basketball Hour, debuted.
May 8, 2015: ESPN Contract Non-Renewal Announced
On May 8, 2015, ESPN announced that Bill Simmons' contract, which was due to expire in September 2015, would not be renewed.
July 22, 2015: Signed Multi-Platform Deal with HBO
On July 22, 2015, Bill Simmons announced he had signed a new multi-platform deal with HBO starting in October 2015.
September 2015: ESPN Contract Expiration
Bill Simmons' contract with ESPN expired in September 2015 and was not renewed.
September 2015: Expiration of Simmons's ESPN Contract
In September 2015, Bill Simmons' contract with ESPN was set to expire. On May 8, 2015, ESPN announced they would not be renewing the contract. On May 15, 2015, it was announced Simmons would no longer work at ESPN, effective immediately.
October 2015: Started Deal with HBO
In October 2015, Bill Simmons began his multi-platform deal with HBO.
October 30, 2015: ESPN Shuts Down Grantland
On October 30, 2015, months after deciding not to renew its contract with Bill Simmons, ESPN shut down the Grantland website.
2015: Launched Bill Simmons Media Group
In the fall of 2015, Bill Simmons launched his venture, the Bill Simmons Media Group.
February 17, 2016: Announced The Ringer
On February 17, 2016, Bill Simmons announced the launch of his new website, The Ringer.
June 1, 2016: The Ringer Went Live
On June 1, 2016, The Ringer website went live.
June 22, 2016: Any Given Wednesday Premiere
On June 22, 2016, Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons premiered on HBO.
November 2016: Any Given Wednesday Cancelled
In November 2016, Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons was cancelled on HBO.
2016: Founded The Ringer
In 2016, Simmons founded The Ringer, a sports and pop culture website and podcast network, and became its CEO.
May 30, 2017: Deal with Vox Media
On May 30, 2017, Vox Media announced that it had entered into a deal to provide advertising sales and access to its publishing platform as part of a revenue sharing agreement with The Ringer.
July 2018: HBO Contract Renewal
In late July 2018, it was revealed that HBO decided to renew Bill Simmons' contract to remain with the network moving forward.
February 5, 2020: Spotify Bought The Ringer
On February 5, 2020, Bill Simmons announced that Spotify was buying The Ringer for approximately $200 million.
September 1, 2021: Accusations of Marginalizing The Ringer's Union
On September 1, 2021, The New York Times published an investigation into The Ringer's workplace culture, including accusations that Bill Simmons tried to marginalize The Ringer's newly formed union through tactics such as bringing in contract workers and unfollowing writers on Twitter who had expressed support for the union.
June 2023: Simmons Calls Prince Harry and Meghan "Fucking Grifters"
In June 2023, Bill Simmons referred to Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, as "fucking grifters" following the mutual decision of Spotify and their Archewell productions to end a $20 million agreement after only 12 episodes of Meghan's Archetypes podcast and one holiday special. Simmons, an executive at Spotify, also mentioned a Zoom call with Harry regarding a podcast idea.
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