‘Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel’ Is Ending at HBO After 29 Seasons: ‘I’m Proud of the Imprint We’ve Made’

Real sports with Bryant Gumbel he says goodbye.

Bryant Gumbel, who has hosted the show since 1995, confirmed Wednesday that the investigative sports series is coming to an end. The acclaimed program ran on HBO for nearly three decades.

“From the first day in Real sport we have consistently tried to look beyond the scoreboard and instead focus on the many social issues inherent in the world of sports,” Gumbel, 74, said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “In the process, we had the opportunity to tell complex stories about race, gender, class, opportunity and more.”

Bryant Gumbel on ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’.

Warner Bros Discovery

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Gumbel added: “Being able to do this on HBO for almost 3 decades has been very gratifying. I’m proud of the print we made, so I’m ready to turn the page. Although partings are never easy, I have decided that now is the time to move on.”

The news was first reported by Deadline.

Bryant Gumbel hosts ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’.

Warner Bros Discovery

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This year, Gumbel received a Sports Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, during the show’s 29-year history, Real sport has been awarded 37 sports Emmys and three Peabody Awards.

Some of the journalist’s most famous stories about Real sport it included exposing a ring of child slavery, where 5-year-old boys were forced to compete in camel races in the US, and an investigation by the International Olympic Committee.

Gumbel also reported on the story of a police officer who shot a boy and helped Shaquille O’Neal discover that he made more money from advertising brands than from his professional basketball career.

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“For 29 seasons, Real sports with Bryant Gumbel delivered a masterclass in sports storytelling,” Casey Bloys, president and CEO of HBO and Max Content, said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “As HBO’s longest-running series, Bryant and his Real sport team has long been a cornerstone of HBO programming.”

“The series will continue to resonate in the field of sports journalism and we are very proud to have been part of such an extraordinary odyssey,” the statement concluded.

Apart from hosting Real timeGumbel’s illustrious career in television included covering the NFL as a co-anchor on NBC GrandStand from 1975 to 1982. He was also a co-host Today and Early show on CBS.

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Season 29 of Real sports with Bryant Gumbel continues September 26 at 10:00 PM ET on HBO.

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