Howard Stern is 70 and not guaranteed to renew his contract when it comes up in 2025 so Sirius has been spending a lot o
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Howard Stern
carrybuh — 1 year ago(October 28, 2024 04:40 PM)
Howard Stern is 70 and not guaranteed to renew his contract when it comes up in 2025 so Sirius has been spending a lot of money to license successful podcasts to run on their satellite service. So far they have cut deals with Conan O'Brien's podcast network; the SmartLess podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes; the Call Her Daddy podcast hosted by Alexandra Cooper.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/siriusxm-alex-cooper-howard-stern-1236044270/
SiriusXM has been particularly aggressive in making rich talent deals this year, snapping up both SmartLess and Call Her Daddy, two of the most popular podcasts in the industry. The acquisitions were notable not only because of their price tags, both at $100 million-plus, but also for what they say about the satellite radio giant’s larger business strategy and reputation as a talent-friendly destination.
The company wants to keep bringing in new names, and ad dollars, particularly in light of retirement rumors for Howard Stern, a blockbuster host who has added fuel to that rumor while also savvily reminding listeners each time he’s in contract talks of how he has built up the SiriusXM brand. But it’s also testing ways to convert free podcast listeners to its paid offerings, including the possibility of a paywall. That time hasn’t come — yet — for SmartLess or Call Her Daddy.
“When you look at what’s going on with the bigger podcasts, we are testing constantly by having certain things exclusive, certain things behind the paywall. Eventually, we’re going to take a gamble, if we find the right podcast talent and a willingness on the talents’ part, to go behind the paywall knowing we’ll lose some free listeners, like you always do,” says Greenstein.
“With those that’ll pay, if it’s enough, you’re now recreating the podcast model like satellite radio. So you can’t think of doing that without having your hands on a handful of the bigger ones to do it,” he adds.