Bill Simmons is sticking around at Spotify.
The podcast host and media executive said in a statement Wednesday that he has agreed to a new contract at the Swedish audio streaming giant. Simmons will continue his namesake show covering sports and pop culture and serve as the company’s head of talk strategy for at least two years, reporting to Roman Wasenmüller, who leads Spotify Technology SA’s podcast business.
There had been speculation that Simmons, 55, would leave when his contract expired, especially since Spotify has cut back on its investment in original podcasts. But Simmons has been adding new shows and has played a major role in Spotify’s push into video.
“I’ve been in enough work situations at this point that you just kinda know when you’re in the right spot,” Simmons said in the statement. “I think all of us are motivated to do something pretty special in the talk and video space.”
Simmons joined Spotify in 2020 when the streaming service purchased his company, the Ringer, for about $250 million. Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek was expanding Spotify from music into new kinds of audio and spent more than $1 billion acquiring podcasting companies and the exclusive rights to hit shows like The Joe Rogan Experience and Call Her Daddy.
The investment attracted tens of millions of listeners and turned Spotify into one of the most powerful audio platforms in podcasting.
Spotify also spent a lot of money on shows that didn’t deliver a large audience and has since scaled back its investment. The founders of many of the companies Spotify acquired have since left, including Parcast’s Max Cutler, Gimlet Media’s Matt Lieber and Alex Blumberg and Anchor’s Michael Mignano.
The Ringer stands out as one of Spotify’s more successful acquisitions. The company makes several popular sports and pop-culture shows that cost very little to produce and have large audiences, including The Bill Simmons Podcast and The Rewatchables.
The Ringer continues to add new programs that broaden its portfolio, including Derek Thompson’s current affairs show Plain English and a forthcoming podcast from actress Amy Poehler.
The Ringer is now rolling out video versions of many shows, including Simmons’ podcast. Spotify hopes adding video will bring in more advertising dollars and increase the amount of time users spend in the app. It faces competition from YouTube.
Spotify was among the top-performing media stocks last year, rising 138%. The shares have continued higher this year, fueled by better-than-expected subscriber growth and the company’s first-ever annual profit.
