Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and Team Coco's other podcasts now belong to SiriusXM. O’Brien has sold his digital media company and podcast network to the satellite radio giant.
As part of the deal, which The Wall Street Journal says is worth around $150 million, O'Brien has signed a five-year talent agreement to keep hosting his podcast. He'll also create and produce a Team Coco comedy channel. In addition, SiriusXM will have the right to distribute some videos from O'Brien's podcast, along with archival footage from his TBS late-night show.
Team Coco's staff of around 50 will continue to produce existing shows and work on other SiriusXM content. The network's other podcasts include Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan (a spin-off of the flagship show) and Parks and Recollection, a Parks and Recreation behind-the-scenes show hosted by star Rob Lowe and writer Alan Yang. Collectively, the 10 podcasts have been downloaded more than 418 million times.
Don't worry too much if you listen to Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and other Team Coco shows elsewhere. They'll still be available on other podcast platforms.
"When I started in television my ultimate goal was to work my way up to radio," O'Brien said. "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."
SiriusXM has been trying to become a bigger player in podcasting amid stiff competition from the likes of Spotify. Over the last couple of years, it has scooped up the Stitcher platform and podcasts such as 99% Invisible. SiriusXM has also beefed up its original content with exclusive shows from the likes of Marvel. It bought podcast hosting and analytics platform Simplecast too.