Sirius XM (SIRI) struck a massive exclusivity deal with Alex Cooper, the host of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, as a last-ditch effort to increase its declining results.
Sirius XM’s stock is down nearly 29% compared to the same time last year yet has seen a continuous slight increase in the past three months, landing the media company at around a 1.4% increase on Friday.
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Although yet to be confirmed by the media company, the multiyear deal with the “Call Her Daddy” podcast and the Unwell network is said to be worth around $100 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. The Daddy Gang wants more, so we’re getting ready to give them more…I can’t wait for this new chapter to begin,” said Copper in the press release.
The agreement gives Sirius XM exclusive rights to sell advertisements on both the audio and video versions of the show, as well as all other extra content and related events.
Unfortunately, “Call Her Daddy” has not been doing well in the podcast rankings lately. The podcast dropped to number 6 on Spotify’s U.S. podcast charts, four spots down compared to the previous year.
The show “Call Her Daddy” is an advice and celebrity interview podcast hosted by its Executive Producer, Alex Copper. Formerly owned by Barstool Sports, the podcast is now part of the Unwell network, Copper’s latest business venture in collaboration with popular content creators.
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Sirius XM’s history with failing podcasts
This is not Sirius XM’s first attempt to break into the podcast market; earlier this year, the media company acquired the “SmartLess” podcast for around $100 million in a three-year deal.
Since the multimillion-dollar deal, the “SmartLess” podcast has only declined in popularity. It currently ranks number 16 on Apple Podcasts, two spots down from where it was previously, and is nowhere to be seen on the top 10 Spotify U.S. podcast charts, ranking at number 31.
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Although it has been persistent in trying to enter the podcast market, this strategy has proven not to work for Sirius XM so far.
According to Sirius XM’s Q2 2024 earnings report, the media company’s revenue stood at $2.18 billion, a 3% decrease from last year’s Q2 reports.
The net income per diluted common share was $0.08, which remains flat compared to the same time last year.
The satellite radio company’s self-pay subscribers decreased by approximately 1%, and paid promotional subscribers decreased by 18% compared to last year’s Q2 results.
Regarding Sirius XM’s revenue, subscriber revenue decreased by 3%, advertising revenue decreased by 2%, and total revenue decreased by around 3% compared to the Q2 results from the previous year.
As Sirius XM’s President and Chief Content Officer Scott Andrew Greenstein stated in the Q2 earnings call, the company’s recent acquisition of podcasts is a strategy to generate revenue from the podcasts’ loyal listeners.
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The idea is to provide listeners with exclusive content and put it behind a paywall, hoping to move away from the free content space.
“I feel pretty optimistic. There will be content growth tied to subscriber growth in the future,” said Greenstein
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