{"id":117952,"date":"2024-10-24T20:53:45","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T13:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=117952"},"modified":"2024-10-24T20:53:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T13:53:45","slug":"how-siriusxm-will-survive-after-howard-stern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=117952","title":{"rendered":"How SiriusXM Will Survive After Howard Stern"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tA few years ago, audio platforms and media companies threw enormous amounts of money at creators to build their podcasting slates. Spotify, which spent more than $1 billion on its push, inked deals with the Obamas, the Sussexes and more, in addition to bankrolling its biggest star, Joe Rogan. Now, after a content spending pullback, it\u2019s a different landscape. One that, in the telling of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/siriusxm\/\" id=\"auto-tag_siriusxm_1\" data-tag=\"siriusxm\">SiriusXM<\/a> president and chief content officer Scott Greenstein, has matured to the point where it\u2019s clear which big players in the audio space still can write checks. Namely, SiriusXM, Spotify, Amazon\u2019s Wondery and\u202fiHeartMedia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tSiriusXM has been particularly aggressive in making rich talent deals this year, snapping up both <em>SmartLess <\/em>and <em>Call Her Daddy<\/em>, two of the most popular podcasts in the industry. The acquisitions were notable not only because of their price tags, both at $100 million-plus, but also for what they say about the satellite radio giant\u2019s larger business strategy and reputation as a talent-friendly destination.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cNo one is kind of correcting us or saying, \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t know, you should do it this way,\u2019\u202f\u201d says Ted Danson, who\u2019s new to the podcasting space with <em>Where Everybody Knows Your Name With Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)<\/em>, which is under Conan O\u2019Brien\u2019s Team Coco banner, acquired by SiriusXM in 2022. \u201cWe get this kind of carte blanche: \u2018Go have fun and talk to interesting\u202fpeople.\u2019\u202f\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe company wants to keep bringing in new names, and ad dollars, particularly in light of retirement rumors for Howard Stern, a blockbuster host who has added fuel to that rumor while also savvily reminding listeners each time he\u2019s in contract talks of how he has built up the SiriusXM brand. But it\u2019s also testing ways to convert free podcast listeners to its paid offerings, including the possibility of a paywall. That time hasn\u2019t come \u2014 yet \u2014 for <em>SmartLess<\/em> or <em>Call Her Daddy<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cWhen you look at what\u2019s going on with the bigger podcasts, we are testing constantly by having certain things exclusive, certain things behind the paywall. Eventually, we\u2019re going to take a gamble, if we find the right podcast talent and a willingness on the talents\u2019 part, to go behind the paywall knowing we\u2019ll lose some free listeners, like you always do,\u201d says Greenstein.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cWith those that\u2019ll pay, if it\u2019s enough, you\u2019re now recreating the podcast model like satellite radio. So you can\u2019t think of doing that without having your hands on a handful of the bigger ones to do it,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tSiriusXM needs to add new shows to keep feeding its large podcasting ad sales unit, which accelerated with the acquisition of podcasting company Stitcher in 2020. Greenstein says he looks for shows \u2014 he keeps an eye on the top 10 or 20 podcasts in the industry and when their contracts are ending \u2014 that have big, monetizable audiences with the potential to grow. He adds that the company evaluates metrics such as downloads, ad revenue and social media buzz. Those contracts also come with download floors and metrics that the podcasts must meet. \u201cWe just won\u2019t make stupid deals,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd we won\u2019t make deals that don\u2019t make sense. It doesn\u2019t mean some aren\u2019t a gamble, even in a smart business setting. But that\u2019s the nature of the media business.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tEven before this year\u2019s big swings, SiriusXM already had a notable podcasting slate with Ashley Flower\u2019s <em>Crime Junkie<\/em>, which ranked as the second biggest podcast in the U.S. in the second quarter, and <em>Dateline NBC<\/em>, which ranked as the fifth, per Edison Research. Alex Cooper\u2019s <em>Call Her Daddy<\/em>, an interview-style podcast with a large base of female listeners, was the fourth most popular podcast in the U.S. in the second quarter, while <em>SmartLess<\/em>, the celebrity interview podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, was the sixth. SiriusXM has distribution rights for the podcast episodes, which are currently widely distributed, and exclusive ad sales rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe exact nature of which show or shows and how many episodes would be behind the paywall is still to be determined, and also depends on the talent\u2019s willingness to take the plunge. This may prove to be a tricky proposition given that Spotify has dropped its exclusive distribution strategy for its popular podcasts,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/alex-coopers-call-her-daddy-podcast-no-longer-exclusive-to-spotify-1235811636\/\"> including Cooper\u2019s<\/a>, with the upfront cost to the company and talent dissatisfaction at cutting off a wider audience both playing a factor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tGreenstein says it\u2019s a similar discussion to the one he had with Stern, in which SiriusXM would promise to retain the podcast\u2019s creativity while getting the talent out of the \u201cratings rat race\u201d and also offer a compelling financial incentive.\u00a0\u201cYou preserve their creative exactly the way they want. You create an economic model that makes them excited. And at the same time, we\u2019re now in a position where that big fan base, if they want that to continue, the only place they can get it is SiriusXM,\u201d Greenstein says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tBeyond serving as tests for a possible paywall and bringing in ad dollars, the big podcasts feed into the larger SiriusXM ecosystem, with many already having streaming radio channels with early and additional content on the company\u2019s SiriusXM streaming app, a newer, lower-cost ($9.99 monthly) subscription service meant to bring Sirius content to listeners inside and outside of the car and pull in younger subscribers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-full alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:1024px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((577\/1024)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2167286332.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"577\" width=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-padding-tb-025\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"a-font-secondary-s lrv-u-margin-r-025\">Howard Stern, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Sean Hayes, and Jelly Roll onstage during SiriusXM Presents SmartLess Live with special guest Howard Stern at The Stephen Talkhouse on August 17, 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"a-font-accent-uppercase-xs lrv-u-color-grey-dark\">Cindy Ord\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAll of these moves are made with an eye as to when 70-year-old Stern \u2014 SiriusXM\u2019s longtime talk radio leader, who has a contract through the end of 2025 \u2014 decides to retire. By that time, the company plans to have a built-up bench of audio talent, which also includes James Corden, Andy Cohen and O\u2019Brien. And that\u2019s thanks in part to Stern\u2019s influence. \u201cI chose Sirius because there is a lot of opportunity to go to different places and grow <em>Call Her Daddy<\/em> into something bigger,\u201d Cooper <a data-id=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/digital\/alex-cooper-interview-call-her-daddy-1236023570\/\" data-type=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/digital\/alex-cooper-interview-call-her-daddy-1236023570\/\">tol<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/digital\/alex-cooper-interview-call-her-daddy-1236023570\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/digital\/alex-cooper-interview-call-her-daddy-1236023570\/\">d<\/a><a data-id=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/digital\/alex-cooper-interview-call-her-daddy-1236023570\/\" data-type=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/digital\/alex-cooper-interview-call-her-daddy-1236023570\/\"> <em>THR<\/em><\/a>. \u201cTo see what they\u2019ve done with Howard Stern is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tBut Greenstein notes he has not heard from Stern about wanting to leave. \u201cHe\u2019s been with me and the company going on two decades, and so he\u2019s pretty happy, but he\u2019s also able, like many great artists, to stop whenever he wants. Nobody will ever replace them. We would never try to replace them. It\u2019s not what is even appropriate, but even practical,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat you always want to do in anything, whether it\u2019s a sports team or a media company, you want to have a great bench of talent that have their own identity.\u201d Even if he were to retire, SiriusXM will still own Stern\u2019s library of content for a number of years, \u201cso we\u2019ll always have Howard\u2019s voice on our air,\u201d Greenstein adds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe bulk of the company\u2019s revenue still comes from the satellite business, while ad revenue was pressured in the first half of 2024 amid broader consumer uncertainty. Last quarter, SiriusXM, which also owns music streaming service Pandora, reported revenue of $2.2 billion, down 3 percent year over year, with $443 million of that coming from advertising revenue, which was flat-year-over year. Advertising revenue was pressured in the first half of 2024, amid broader consumer uncertainty, but podcasting advertising revenue has remained a strong point.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe number of satellite subscribers has been fluctuating at the company, with SiriusXM losing 100,000 subscribers in the past quarter and about 450,000 in the first half of the year to reach 31.5 million. This is an improvement from 2023, and the company still has a low average monthly churn, but there are some concerns about a longer-term downward trend amid satellite radio\u2019s aging demographic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThat\u2019s also where both the streaming app (which will compete with Spotify and its 246 million subscribers) and the podcasts come in, as well as other lower-priced packages. \u201cWe have a very strong core market of subscribers, which is the older over-45. And we\u2019re looking not only at content, we\u2019re looking at different ways to reach out, including with the various pricing and packaging to reach the younger demographic,\u201d SiriusXM CFO Thomas Barry said at a March investor\u00a0conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tBarry added, \u201cSo we are adjusting our content, as you saw with <em>SmartLess<\/em>. and as I said, with John Mayer and with James Cordon, we\u2019re starting to look at some of the content that will reach the younger generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tCooper\u2019s podcast network also comes with the chance to capture a large young female audience, but Greenstein says that was not the driving force behind the\u202facquisition. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more excited about that,\u201d he notes. \u201cHaving said that, the way we might get there is because we signed a true talent who happens to appeal to that audience, not like we woke up and our mission is 18-to-34 young women and we said, \u2018Who else fits that?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tIn the move from Wondery to SiriusXM, Richard Korson, president of SmartLess Media, says the company was looking at SiriusXM\u2019s broad reach across audio mediums as well as the ability to host more live shows and build out additional podcasts across the company\u2019s three-year deal. In the short term, he expects two more shows to launch from SmartLess Media this quarter and likely two more in early 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cI think we were excited at the idea of expanding our fan base and for all of our shows at SmartLess Media,\u201d Korson says. \u201cI\u2019m a firm believer of great audio is great audio, and people consume it as part of their media consumption. And Sirius offers us the ability to meet consumers where they are, whether it\u2019s on satellite radio or in the podcasting network.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tIn addition to the talent-friendly view and broad network, Greenstein says part of SiriusXM\u2019s pitch is its booking team, which he notes is capable of getting most guests on the shows. Kamala Harris recently appeared on <em>Call Her Daddy<\/em> and <em>The Howard Stern Show<\/em>, as one example.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe company also has an interest in finding and building up new talent, such as the newly signed Dylan Douglas (son of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones) \u2014 who has a political show aimed at a Gen Z audience on the SiriusXM Progress Channel \u2014 in the hope of growing them into the next <em>SmartLess<\/em> or <em>Call Her Daddy<\/em>.\u00a0Those acquisition deals also include bringing a network of podcasts under the SiriusXM umbrella, including Cooper\u2019s Unwell Network with shows including <em>Hot Mess With Alix Earle<\/em>, and the possibility of developing additional shows, all of which make the six-figure acquisition deals more \u201ccost-efficient,\u201d says Greenstein.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tInvestors bullish on the stock prize the company\u2019s free cash flow, which is projected at $1.2\u202fbillion in 2024, given its generally low capital expenditures. (Warren Buffett\u2019s Berkshire Hathaway recently became the company\u2019s top shareholder after a stock combination that simplified the company\u2019s ownership structure.) <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tBut Wall Street also likes cost efficiencies. \u201cThere\u2019s a concern among investors that they\u2019ll sort of quixotically go after the younger demo by investing a ton of money and younger-focused talent, and that\u2019s going to hurt the free-cash-flow story,\u201d says Pivotal Research analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak of the <em>SmartLess<\/em> and <em>Call Her Daddy<\/em> deals. At the moment, Greenstein says the company is pausing and taking stock of the landscape. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to find great talent,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have the great talent, in my opinion, that\u2019s available.\u201d But, if another deal came along, he doesn\u2019t rule it out either.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-datawrapper wp-block-embed-datawrapper\">\n<p>\n<iframe title=\"Stuck in Neutral\" aria-label=\"Interactive line chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-ExGPt\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/ExGPt\/1\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"505\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t<em>A version of this story first appeared in the Oct. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/subscriptions.hollywoodreporter.com\/site\/thr-subscribe\">click here to subscribe.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/siriusxm-alex-cooper-howard-stern-1236044270\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few years ago, audio platforms and media companies threw enormous amounts of money at creators to build their podcasting slates. Spotify, which spent more than $1 billion on its &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=117952\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117952\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}