HBO named Peter Nelson the head of the network’s award-winning sports department, promoting him to Executive Vice President, HBO Sports. The announcement was made by Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming, to whom Nelson will report. Nelson, who joined HBO Sports in 2011, has been Vice President, Programming, HBO Sports since 2013.
Nelson will be responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and operations of the HBO Sports department, including its boxing franchise and HBO Pay-Per-View®. In addition, the HBO Sports portfolio includes the Peabody- and Emmy Award®-winning journalism program “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel”; the nine-time Peabody Award-winning documentary team; the boxing studio show “The Fight Game With Jim Lampley”; and the landmark reality series “Hard Knocks” and “24/7,” which have garnered 12 and 18 Sports Emmy® Awards, respectively.
“Peter Nelson is the ideal choice to spearhead our groundbreaking programming initiatives as well as our commitment to world class boxing, which have made HBO Sports an acclaimed franchise for the network,” said Lombardo. “He has a comprehensive understanding of boxing, a key programming staple for our subscribers for more than four decades. We enjoyed a terrific 2015 season and can’t wait to present the best collection of fighters in the world on our platforms in the new year.”
HBO has televised boxing for 43 consecutive years and enjoyed a banner year in 2015 sparked by a host of fighters that dominate the consensus top ten pound-for-pound compilations in the sport.
Says Nelson: “The quality of HBO Sports programming is mirrored in the profound talents creating it, both those who work with HBO and those who work within it, people for whom I have deep admiration and with whom I’m excited to collaborate.”
A native of Newton, MA, Nelson attended Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Ancient Greek. He has lived in Florence, Italy, Santa Monica, CA and New York City. Nelson will assume his new role effective immediately.
