New York
CNN
—
Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes are ditching Amazon and taking their common podcast “SmartLess” to SiriusXM, the satellite radio network said Monday. The three-year deal is valued at $100 million, a supply confirmed to CNN.
SiriusXM gained unique rights to the hit podcast as half of a bigger take care of SmartLess Media, in response to an announcement Monday. Sirius will maintain the promoting and distribution rights, content material and occasions for the podcast and different choose exhibits.
$100 million is a staggering quantity for the podcast, which launched in July 2020. Bloomberg first reported the large price ticket. However “SmartLess” has fetched multimillions earlier than: In 2021, Amazon had acquired the unique rights in a deal valued between $60 million and $80 million, Bloomberg reported.
The deal retains the podcast extensively accessible, however brings perks to SiriusXM subscribers – and will presumably encourage extra to affix. SiriusXM subscribers will get early entry to “SmartLess” and different podcasts akin to “Simply Jack & Will,” “Dangerous Dates,” and “Owned.” The vast majority of the “SmartLess” library shall be solely be on SiriusXM as soon as the deal commences in the summertime.
SiriusXM has about 34 million subscribers, in response to its October 2023 earnings report. The community additionally completely distributes Conan O’Brien’s “Conan Wants a Good friend” podcast and Crooked Media’s “Pod Save America.” The podcasts, which stay free, even to non-SiriusXM subscribers, assist create an alternate income stream for the satellite tv for pc radio firm.
The “SmartLess” podcast is among the many prime listened to within the nation. Its notable friends have included President Joe Biden, Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Greta Gerwig, Idris Elba, Pedro Pascal and Selena Gomez.
Over the previous few years, SiriusXM has “doubled down on our dedication to podcasting,” Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content material Officer, SiriusXM mentioned in a launch. “With the addition of ‘SmartLess,’ we’re strengthening our management place in podcasting.”
SiriusXM Podcast Community is a competitor to streaming giants like Spotify and Amazon. Spotify has needed to make up for the more than $1 billion it spent on podcasting, a lot of which went towards deals with celebrities to make podcasts that never materialized and buying podcast studios that it later shuttered.
CNN’s Sergio Padilla contributed to this report.