NEW YORK – November 10, 2011 – Fifty one-time Emmy Award-winning producer Ross Greenburg, one of sports-television’s preeminent storytellers, has been retained by the NBC Sports Group to produce sports documentaries for the new NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel and NBC. Greenburg, who founded Ross Greenburg Productions earlier this year after a 33-year career at HBO, will also reunite with Bob Costas to produce the previously announced Costas Tonight, a new monthly interview program and live Town Hall series. Greenburg and Costas previously collaborated at HBO to produce the critically acclaimed and award-winning programs On the Record and CostasNOW.
“I am thrilled to be a part of the NBC Sports Group family, and to develop compelling and entertaining programming with this great team of programmers and production personnel led by my friend and former colleague Mark Lazarus,” said Greenburg. “I am also very excited to be reunited with Bob Costas, and to showcase his extraordinary skills as a broadcaster and journalist.”
Greenburg’s first documentary for the NBC Sports Group, Cold War on Ice: Summit Series ’72, will have a prominent role in the launch of the NBC Sports Network as it debuts at 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, the same day the channel is being re-branded from VERSUS. The documentary focuses on the hockey series played in 1972 between a team of Canadian NHL all-stars and the Soviet Union national team during the height of the Cold War.
“Ross is a master storyteller and a perfect fit to produce high-quality, relevant programming for all of our platforms, particularly NBC Sports Network and Golf Channel,” said Lazarus. “His award-winning collaborative relationship with Bob made the decision to retain Ross to oversee production of Costas Tonight a natural.”
“We are excited and fortunate to add someone of Ross’ caliber to our production team,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “His record speaks for itself as a producer of the highest quality content. Adding him to our group is invaluable.”
“Storytelling is a signature of NBC Sports and viewers came to expect a similar brand of quality storytelling under Ross’ leadership at HBO Sports,” said Mike McCarley, President, Golf Channel. “The game of golf is filled with dramatic stories and we’re excited about the projects we have in development with Ross that will bring his unique storytelling skills to Golf Channel.”
Announced yesterday, Costas Tonight is a monthly series featuring Costas, one of America’s preeminent interviewers, conducting in-depth, revealing interviews with leading newsmakers in sports and entertainment. It will debut on Thursday nights in spring 2012 on the NBC Sports Network.
With NBC airing Super Bowl XLVI, the first episode in the Costas Tonight: Live from… town hall series will feature some of the NFL’s biggest stars and newsmakers focusing on the state of the NFL, plus a preview of Super Bowl XLVI and the storylines from the NFL season. Costas Tonight: Live from the Super Bowl will air on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012.
About Ross Greenburg
In 2011, Ross Greenburg created Ross Greenburg Productions after a 33 year career at HBO. He served as Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of HBO Sports from 1985-2000, and then President of HBO Sports from 2000-2011. He is recognized as one of the most innovative producers and best storytellers in television history. He now brings his creativity and vision to a larger audience, and a wider variety of programming opportunities.
Greenburg has won more than 85 major television sports awards, including eight Peabody Awards, 51 Sports Emmy® Awards, 21 Cable ACE awards, 12 Cine Golden Eagles Awards and five Monitor Awards from the Video Tape Production Association.
Greenburg created in 1995 “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” which established itself as the leading sports journalism program on television. In December of 2005, the show was recognized with an Alfred I. duPont Award for Broadcast Journalism. It marked the first time a sports program had been presented a duPont Award. In 2001 Greenburg brought Bob Costas to HBO, and launched “On the Record with Bob Costas,” which transitioned to “Costas Now,” with host Bob Costas receiving multiple Emmys and critical acclaim.
Prior to joining HBO in 1978, Greenburg worked at ABC Sports in New York City. He holds a BA in political science from Brown University in Providence, RI.
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