Alex Cooper’s ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast signs deal with SiriusXM for $125 million
By Ramishah Maruf and Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN
New York (CNN) — Alex Cooper, the host of the popular, unfiltered sex and relationship podcast “Call Her Daddy,” is ending her own relationship — with Spotify.
Cooper signed an agreement with SiriusXM, giving the platform exclusive advertising and distribution rights, as well as other content and events. The multi-year deal is worth $125 million across three years, sources familiar with the deal terms told CNN – more than double her previous deal with Spotify.
The deal brings exclusive content to SiriusXM starting next year. SiriusXM also received exclusive global ad sales rights to all editions of Cooper’s Unwell Network, which includes podcasts “Hot Mess with Alix Earle,” “Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy,” “Boyfriend Material with Harry Jowsey” and “In Your Dreams with Owen Thiele.”
“Call Her Daddy”— Spotify’s second-biggest podcast in 2023, behind only “The Joe Rogan Experience” — is yet another popular podcast to leave the exclusive rights for its streaming platform behind for SiriusXM.
In January, Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes left Amazon to take their podcast “SmartLess” to SiriusXM for a three-year deal valued at $100 million.
While SiriusXM has “doubled down on our commitment to podcasting,” Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer of SiriusXM said in a January release, Spotify has had to slash its staff to make up for the more than $1 billion it has spent on podcasting, much of which went toward deals with celebrities to make podcasts that never materialized and acquiring podcast studios that it later shuttered.
While $125 million might sound like a staggering amount for a podcast, Cooper has raked in millions before. In 2021, Cooper left Barstool Sports for a Spotify three-year agreement reportedly worth $60 million.
“The Daddy Gang will always be my top priority, and with SiriusXM we will continue to find new ways to evolve and provide my listeners the best experience,” Cooper said in a statement. The Daddy Gang refers to Cooper’s listeners.
Since launching in 2018 with former co-host Sofia Franklyn, Cooper has become the most listened-to female podcaster in the world, SiriusXM said in a release. “Call Her Daddy” has interviewed music stars from Zayn Malik and Christina Aguilera to actors Jane Fonda and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Even though SiriusXM now holds the advertising rights, “Call Her Daddy” and the Unwell Network will still be available on Spotify, where the majority of listeners remain.
Representatives for Cooper did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. SiriusXM did not disclose any details pertaining to deal terms in a press release issued on Tuesday.
The-CNN-Wire
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