Another Popular Podcast Goes Exclusive To Spotify. Find Out Which!

Tuesday, June 15, Spotify announced that it is striking an exclusive deal with the ‘Call Her Daddy‘ podcast, the popular show that covers topics like sex, dating, and mental health. 

The show will go exclusive on July 21st. This means, therefore, that all existing and new episodes of “Call Her Daddy” will remain free and, starting July 21, will be available only on Spotify. Though full details are yet to be disclosed, Variety reports that the licensing deal is for more than $60 million. In addition to this, the agreement will also cover all future episodes and additional exclusive new projects in development with Alex Cooper, Co-host, “Call Her Daddy” podcast series. 

A source familiar with the pact told Variety that the three-year contract is worth more than $60 million in total. This makes it Spotify’s biggest exclusive deal for a woman-led podcast to date. (The Wall Street Journal, which first reported talks, had pegged the deal at “around or over” $20 million.)

The deal, however, does not include Barstool Sports, which has been the home of “Call Her Daddy” since 2018. “Going forward, Spotify will co-produce “Call Her Daddy” with Cooper,” Variety reports. 

“I’m incredibly thankful for everyone who has supported, helped and been a part of ‘Call Her Daddy,’” Cooper said in a statement. “From its start three years ago, the show has always been about challenging the status quo and manifesting conversations that previously only happened behind closed doors.”

“Call Her Daddy” has consistently ranked in the top 15 podcasts across all platforms this year, and was the No. 5 most-listened-to podcast on Spotify in 2020. (The No. 1 podcast on Spotify last year was “The Joe Rogan Experience,” followed by “TED Talks Daily,” The New York Times’ “The Daily,” and Spotify exclusive “The Michelle Obama Podcast.”) “Call Her Daddy” also is the second-most-popular female-created podcast globally on Spotify after “Crime Junkie,” hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, according to data released in March 2021.

Spotify’s deal locking up “Call Her Daddy” brings another hugely popular podcast to its stable of shows, joining “The Joe Rogan Experience” and Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” (coming to Spotify exclusively as of July 1). Spotify also has signed exclusive deals with partners including the Obamas and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for original podcasts. And it has acquired podcast companies Gimlet, Anchor, Parcast and Megaphone, as well as Bill Simmons’ The Ringer.