Bill Simmons’ podcast may no longer have the promotional muscle of ESPN behind it, but that doesn’t mean Simmons is struggling now that he’s on his own.
Simmons debuted his new podcast, “The Bill Simmons Show” on October 1 and has since been on a tear. By October 16, the show’s 10 episodes had been downloaded nearly 4 million times, according to Simmons. It’s quickly become the top podcast in the iTunes sports category and the 14th most-popular podcast overall.
“It’s not earth-shaking, but it is an impressive start ,” said Norm Pattiz, CEO of Podcast Network Podcast One. “You have to assume that a lot of his existing audience has followed him to this new platform.”
Assuming an industry average CPM of $25, Simmons’ show has likely pulled in around $350,000 since its debut, according to Pattiz. That number is almost certainly even higher considering the strength of Simmons’ brand and the scarcity of ad spots available to advertisers trying to get on his show, which pushes prices up.
Previous estimated pegged the annual revenue of Simmons’ podcast at $5 million — nearly the entire yearly revenue of the ESPN-owned Grantland, where he was formerly editor-in-chief.
Simmons stands to earn more with his current deal than he did while working with ESPN, where he was paid a salary, not based on how much revenue his podcast made. Simmons, then, has even more reason to attract as many new listeners as possible. He regularly promotes the new show on Twitter, where he has 4.7 million followers, and is likely to promote it further once the HBO show he is slated to host airs next year.
“This system works because all the parties are incentivized in the right way,” said Adam Sachs, CEO of podcast network Midroll Media, which scored the ad sales rights for Simmons’ show. “It’s a lucrative situation.”
Simmons, a skillful podcast host, has proven to be equally adept at making his show’s mid-roll and post-roll ad spots genuinely enjoyable to listen to — or at the very least not annoying — which is largely what attracts advertisers to podcasts to begin with. A back-and-forth about upcoming football matchups last week slid almost seamlessly into an ad for MeUndies: “You know what, Sal? This is such a good game that I think you need you know about the feeling of great-feeling underwear that’s two times softer than cotton,” and so on.
It’s too early to say how big “The Bill Simmons Show” will ultimately get, but it’s certain to top the success of Simmon’s “B.S. Podcast,” which was downloaded 32 million times in 2013.
Credit to Digiday who originally published this article
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
