The Kelces' "New Heights" and "Call Her Daddy" Gear Up For $100 Million Paydays | Bobby Burack
Two popular podcasts are seeking $100 million deals.
The first, Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" is on the verge of getting one. She is nearing a deal to move her popular podcast from Spotify to Sirius, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
"New Heights" with Travis and Jason Kelce is the other. The Kelce brothers have had discussions with Amazon's Wondery to move the show there from Wave Sports + Entertainment Channels.
Discussions for both shows center around licensing deals. Cooper and the Kelces are likely to retain ownership in any agreement. Meaning, a podcast network will pay them a sum to monetize their shows in exchange.
We expect both deals to include audience targets that the shows must hit to reach certain salary agreements.
It's unclear over how many years either deal would last. Though Cooper's last contract with Spotify included $60 million over three years, indicating she's probably seeking a raise into the $30 million annual range.
According to the Edison Podcast Metrics, the top 10 podcasts in terms of audience size are as follows:
- 1. The Joe Rogan Experience
- 2. Crime Junkie
- 3. The Daily
- 4. New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce
- 5. Dateline NBC
- 6. This American Life
- 7. Call Her Daddy
- 8. SmartLess
- 9. Morbid
- 10. Stuff You Should Know
Regardless of their exact rankings, there's an argument that "New Heights" and "Call Her Daddy" are the two most valuable podcasts available to providers. We would make that argument.
Call Her Daddy Host, Creator and Executive Producer, Alex Cooper. (Photo by Antony Jones/Getty Images for Spotify)
While Rogan has the largest audience – and recently signed a deal with Spotify for up to $250 million – much of his reach is tied to legacy subscribers.
See, the number of people who listen to some of Rogan's episodes far outpaces the number of consumers who listen to every episode. Cooper and the Kelces have more loyal, every-week listeners.
Further, Rogan's long-form format isn't as unique as it was at his height during the 2020 pandemic. Podcasters like Candace Owens, Theo Vonn, and Tucker Carlson have replicated that format with similar guests and as much recent success.
"Call Her Daddy" is especially hard to replicate. The show is best known for its open banter about sex, but Cooper is also a skilled interviewer who draws pages of newsworthy guests – from Miley Cyrus to Simone Biles, from Gwyneth Paltrow to Ciara. There are not many other podcasts with those guests that discuss those topics.
Alex Cooper is to women in 2024 what Howard Stern was to men in the late 1990s. Let's just hope she ages better than Stern…
No wonder Sirus is offering her nine figures, hoping she can usher in its next era of audio.
BALTIMORE - Travis Kelce (R) of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with his brother Jason Kelce after a 17-10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
As for the Kelces, it'd be dishonest not to acknowledge the show is propped up by Travis Kelce's relationship with Taylor Swift, the biggest pop star on the globe.
Still, Travis and Jason are wildly popular and listeners who tuned in only for Swift have evidently stayed listening. "New Heights" taps into sports, life, comedy, relationships, and entertainment. Even the most dedicated haters fit in there somewhere.
More importantly, the show is growing.
Like "Call Her Daddy," "New Heights" is one of one. There are only two Kelces and they host one show together. The value of not relying on big-name guests is also profound. "New Heights" does not need guests to make waves.
Now, what do these inevitable paydays mean for the rest of the podcast industry? Unfortunately, the divide between the top few podcasts and the rest remains astronomical.
"Podcasting is turning into an industry of megastars who command the most money and the biggest audiences," says the Wall Street Journal.
Indeed.
There are nearly 450,000 active shows that have published recent episodes, according to Podcast Industry Insights. However, the top 25 podcasts reach nearly half of U.S. weekly listeners.
There's a short list of upper-class podcast hosts, which includes Cooper and the Kelces. Then there is everyone else.