Bryant Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster best known for his 15-year tenure as co-host of NBC’s Today and for hosting HBO’s investigative sports series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. He began his TV career in the early 1970s as a sportscaster for KNBC and joined NBC Sports, where he anchored pregame and halftime shows and covered Major League Baseball, the NFL and college football before moving to news at Today in 1982, becoming the program’s first Black co-host and helping restore its ratings during the 1980s and early 1990s[2][1]. Gumbel’s work on Today earned multiple Emmy Awards and wide recognition for on-location broadcasts from places including Moscow, Vietnam and the Vatican[2][5]. After leaving Today in 1997, Gumbel continued to combine journalism and long-form investigation; he launched Real Sports on HBO in 1995 and hosted the series through 2023, during which it won numerous Sports Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award in 2012 for in-depth reporting on ethical and social issues in athletics[2][5]. His reporting style is noted for tough interviews and willingness to address race, politics and institutional failings in sports and beyond[1][5]. Over his career he has received multiple Emmys, a Peabody, and other journalism honors, and he has been inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame[5][1]. In recent years Gumbel has been described as retired from regular network anchoring but remained a prominent media figure through his HBO work until 2023 and occasional public appearances and speaking engagements[2][4]. He is also known for being the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel and for occasional acting and guest roles in film and television[2][8].