Comedian Conan O’Brien is laughing all the way to the bank after he signed a deal to sell his podcast and digital media business, Team Coco, to SiriusXM. The satellite radio giant acquired the rights to the comedian's popular podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, along with Team Coco’s 10 other shows.
Reporting by The Wall Street Journal suggests that the deal is valued at around $150 million and includes a five-year talent agreement for O'Brien, who has agreed to remain on as the host of his namesake podcast.
“When I started in television my ultimate goal was to work my way up to radio,” Conan O’Brien said in a statement. “This new deal with SiriusXM builds on the great relationship that began several years ago with a team that is the standout in their field.”
Team Coco launched a decade ago and now features popular shows like Parks and Recollection, a Parks and Recreation podcast hosted by Rob Lowe and Alan Yang. As part of the deal, O’Brien will also collaborate with SiriusXM to create a new full-time, original Team Coco comedy channel for SiriusXM subscribers.
The network has garnered 1 billion annual video views and averages 180 million downloads, but the deal promises to amplify the network’s voices and extend the Team Coco brand to new audiences.
The network’s flagship show, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, continuously ranks as one of the five most-searched-for podcasts and recently won two Webby Awards.
“We are thrilled that Conan remains committed to producing his incredibly successful podcast and will now expand his role into executive producing an exclusive Team Coco radio channel for SiriusXM,” Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer of SiriusXM, said in a statement. “Conan has built an amazing brand and organization at Team Coco with a proven track record of finding and launching compelling and addictive podcasts. We look forward to continuing to grow the Team Coco brand.”
In 2020, Joe Rogan set a precedent when he signed an exclusivity deal with Spotify that various outlets have valued at over $100 million. Exclusive podcasts have shown their ability to drive subscribers to subscription-based services, making them a hot acquisition target.
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