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

The investigative sports series has been awarded 37 sports Emmys and three Peabody awards during its near three-decade run

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is bidding farewell.

Bryant Gumbel, who’s hosted the show since 1995, confirmed on Wednesday that the investigative sports series would be coming to an end. The acclaimed program had run on HBO for nearly three decades.

“Since day one at Real Sports we’ve consistently tried to look beyond the scoreboard, and focus instead on the many societal issues inherent in the world of sports,” Gumbel, 74, said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “In the process we’ve had the opportunity to tell complex stories about race, gender, class, opportunity and so much more.”

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Gumbel added, “Being able to do so at HBO for almost 3 decades has been very gratifying. I’m proud of the imprint we’ve made, so I’m ready to turn the page. Although goodbyes are never easy, I’ve decided that now’s the time to move on.”

Deadline was the first to report the news.

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This year, Gumbel received the Sports Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, over the course of the show’s 29-year history, Real Sports was awarded 37 sports Emmys and three Peabody awards.

Some of the journalist’s most famous stories on Real Sports included exposing a child slavery ring, where 5-year-old boys were forced to compete in camel racing in the U.S. and investigating the International Olympic Committee.

Gumbel also reported the story of a police officer shooting a young boy and helped Shaquille O’Neal reveal that he’s made more money from brand endorsements than he did from his professional basketball career.

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

"The series will continue to resonate in the realm of sports journalism, and we are so proud to have been part of such a remarkable odyssey,” the statement concluded.

In addition to hosting Real Time, Gumbel’s illustrious career in television included covering the NFL as a co-host of NBC’s GrandStand from 1975 to 1982. He also co-hosted Today and The Early Show on CBS.

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Season 29 of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel continues Sept. 26 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.

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