Alex Cooper, host of the popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast, reached a multiyear agreement with SiriusXM that encompasses exclusive programming from her company expected to begin rolling out in 2025.
The deal between Cooper and SiriusXM is worth as much as $125 million over the course of the deal, which runs a little more than three years, a source familiar with the pact told Variety. Another source, however, said the deal is valued at $100 million. Reps for Cooper and SiriusXM declined to comment.
With the deal, SiriusXM will replace Spotify as Cooper’s distribution and advertising partner. SiriusXM will have exclusive rights for advertising, distribution, content, events and more for Cooper’s flagship “Call Her Daddy” podcast, as well as the lineup of shows from her Unwell Audio Network. “Call Her Daddy” will continue to be available to Spotify listeners.
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“I am beyond excited to work with SiriusXM,” Cooper said in a statement. “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.”
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“Call Her Daddy” has amassed a huge fanbase thanks to Cooper’s no-holds-barred style to discussing dating, sex, mental health, self-care and other topics. In 2021, amid its initial spending frenzy on podcast content and technology, Spotify had paid about $60 million for a three-year exclusive deal for the podcast, which originated at Barstool Sports.
SiriusXM, among other recent podcast pacts, in January inked a three-year, $100 million-plus deal with SmartLess, the podcast and media company founded by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes giving the satellite radio and audio streaming company exclusive distribution and ad-sales rights to its shows.
In addition, SiriusXM bought Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco podcast company for $150 million in 2022 and acquired podcast network and studio Stitcher. Other podcasts and companies exclusively repped by SiriusXM Media include Ashley Flowers’ Audiochuck and its “Crime Junkie” show and Crooked Media and its flagship “Pod Save America.” In 2020, SiriusXM acquired Stitcher in a deal worth up to $325 million from E.W. Scripps (whose Midroll Media unit bought Stitcher for $4.5 million four years earlier). Last year, SiriusXM shut down the Stitcher app and web-streaming site while retaining the Stitcher Studios and Earwolf networks.
Full episodes of “Call Her Daddy” had been available only on Spotify from July 2021 to January 2024, under a deal worth more than $60 million. As of January, the audio-only version of the Cooper-hosted show became available on other audio platforms, while Spotify continued to have exclusive distribution rights to the video version of “Call Her Daddy.”
Last year Cooper launched media company Trending and subsidiary Unwell Audio Network with her husband and business partner Matt Kaplan of Ace Entertainment, aiming to “elevate the voices and stories of Gen Z.” Unwell Network’s initial talent signings have included Alix Earle, Madeline Argy, Harry Jowsey and Owen Thiele.
Cooper, who is represented by UTA, lays claim to being “the most listened-to female podcaster in the world,” according to Spotify. Recent guests on “Call Her Daddy” have included Jane Fonda, Post Malone, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hailey Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Zayn, Janelle Monáe, Kim Petras, Shay Mitchell, Christina Aguilera, John Mayer, Brazilian popstar Anitta, Madison Beer, Lil Dicky, John Legend, Rebel Wilson, Adam Devine and Chelsea Handler.
“Alex’s fearless, unfiltered approach, where no topic is off the table, has created a passionate and dedicated fanbase that is unmatched in podcasting and perfectly aligns with the content that SiriusXM subscribers have come to love and expect from us,” Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s president and chief content officer, said in announcing the deal Tuesday.
