Sportscaster Bob Costas has been a staple on NBC since 1979. He has covered the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, tennis, boxing, golf, the Olympics, and several other professional sporting events throughout his 40-year career with the network. He even hosted his own late-night talk show, Later , for the channel from 1988 to 2001. This week, it was announced that Costas has permanently left NBC’s sports team.
“It’s all settled quietly and happily for all concerned,” the 66-year-old television personality told the New York Post .
Reports that Costas wanted to part ways with NBC started surfacing last August. However, his multimillion-dollar contract with the network was not set to expire until 2021, so the two parties needed some time to negotiate the terms for ending the deal early. They reached an unknown settlement late last year with the sports authority saying that he was treated “more than fairly.”
Last summer, Costas explained to USA Today the reasons why he wanted to leave the peacock network.
“There was a very long period of time when NBC’s programming suited my interests and abilities very well, from Later , to the news magazines, to baseball, the NBA, and the Olympics. And after deciding on my own to leave the Olympics after having done a dozen of them, you just look around and say, ‘What was once a perfect fit no longer fits that description,’ ” he said.
Baseball fans will still be able to see Costas on the MLB Network. Since 2009, he has served as an announcer, performed play-by-play for games, and hosted a couple of series for the channel.
Additionally, the Post reported that he will be a “big part” of the Baseball Hall of Fame inductee announcement, which is set for Tuesday, January 22, and he is also “exploring doing a sports/news interview-style show.”
“If I do anything else, it will be a hybrid of my HBO show [ On the Record with Bob Costas ] and Later ,” he revealed.
The trusted sportscaster has been honored numerous times throughout his career. He was named Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association a record eight times, won 28 Emmy Awards, and received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In August of 2018, he was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
“Everything in this transition was planned and done [by] mutual agreement,” stated Costas’ manager, Sandy Montag, according to the Associated Press .
“Bob certainly has a next chapter in his career and we look forward to developing those possibilities.”
