One of Spotify’s most prominent personalities has left. Alex Cooper, host of Call Her Daddy , has exited the company for SiriusXM, and taken her “The Unwell Network” with her.
Kerry Flynn of Axios reported that news Tuesday:
While Call Her Daddy (created by Cooper and Sofia Franklyn in 2018) has typically been more focused on relationships and advice than sports, Cooper has had quite a lot of sports connections over the years. She and Franklyn initially launched that podcast at Barstool Sports, then Franklyn left in 2020 (amidst a giant dispute with Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, which included Portnoy accusing Franklyn’s boyfriend Peter Nelson of using improper influence at HBO to affect a Real Sports feature on Barstool).
But Cooper kept hosting Call Her Daddy at Barstool on a new deal before jumping to Spotify in July 2021. That was under a three-year deal reportedly worth more than $60 million , and it had full episodes of the show only available there until Spotify switched that policy this January . She also hosted Olympics watch parties for NBCUniversal’s Peacock this summer. And now, she’s headed to SiriusXM. Here’s more from Flynn’s piece :
SiriusXM announced Tuesday that the deal with Cooper will include a “comprehensive programming development strategy for exclusive content” starting in 2025.
SiriusXM has exclusive advertising and distribution rights for “Call Her Daddy” and shows from The Unwell Network, Cooper’s talent network that includes “Hot Mess With Alix Earle” and “Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy” and is a subsidiary of her media company, Trending.
The deal includes global ad sales rights for video and audio versions of the shows. SiriusXM also noted Cooper’s events will be a part of the company.
A source familiar with the agreement said the deal is valued at $100 million and lasts over three years.
This is also interesting as part of a larger apparent pivot away from exclusive podcasts by Spotify, which could have further sports impacts. As noted above, they shifted to allow off-platform audio versions of Call Her Daddy in January, and February saw them renew a deal with Joe Rogan but take out the exclusivity provision. And CEO Daniel Ek has talked about making podcasting “positive to our margin story” this year (a notable change from its previous loss-leader status). And that has many wondering about what’s ahead for Bill Simmons and The Ringer .
At any rate, it’s notable to see Cooper and Call Her Daddy moving affiliations. And it will be interesting to see what sports impacts she has going forward. NBC made it clear this summer they wanted to work with her, with the aforementioned Olympics watch parties, but the return on those has been far from obvious.
We’ll see if Cooper continues to get outside sports opportunities now that she’s at SiriusXM.
[ Axios ]
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