Spotify buying The Ringer podcasts like Bill Simmons, Rewatchables, Ryen Russillo and more
It has come out that Spotify are purchasing The Ringer Podcast Network to add some of the most popular podcasts around to their 700,000+ library.
The Ringer Podcast Network is home to some of the biggest podcasts in the US. Covering sports, pop culture, politics and tech content on over 30 popular podcasts, they will now be heading to Spotify.
Spotify have entered an agreement to buy The Ringer outright following an expansive year of podcasts on their music streaming platform. Since introducing podcasts they have added over 700,000 episodes and in the last year increased the hours of podcasts listened to by 200%.
The company was founded by ESPN executive Bill Simmons in 2016 and features popular podcasts like The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Rewatchables, and The Ryen Russillo Podcast. Their most popular shows discuss sports and TV, with their NBA Desktop podcast having earned a Sports Emmy.
Spotify’s Chief Content Officer, Dawn Ostroff said: “We look forward to putting the full power of Spotify behind The Ringer as they drive our global sports strategy. As we set out to expand our sports and entertainment offerings, we wanted a best-in-class editorial team.
“Bill Simmons is one of the brightest minds in the game and he has successfully innovated as a writer and content creator across mediums and platforms. The Ringer’s proven track record of creating distinctive cultural content as well as discovering and developing top tier talent will make them a formidable asset for Spotify.”
Bill Simmons, founder of the Ringer and host of one of it’s biggest podcasts said: “Spotify has the unique ability to truly supercharge both content and creator talent across genres. We spent the last few years building a world-class sports and pop culture multimedia digital company and believe Spotify can take us to another level.”