Sports talk isn't only for the locker room — just ask brothers Jason and Travis Kelce, who catapulted their popular podcast, New Heights, into a whopping $100 million deal with Amazon's Wondery. But what's driving this massive investment?
"'New Heights' on the surface is a sports podcast, and sports is such a well-listened-to category," Wondery's CEO Jen Sargent said, "But it's become a cultural phenomenon — they're in that cultural zeitgeist." In other words, the famous Kelce duo has mastered the art of blending sports analysis with pop culture pizzazz, capturing a listenership that spans far beyond the typical sports fan base.
This blockbuster deal means New Heights will be exclusively distributed and monetized by Wondery, which started with the kickoff of their latest season on Wednesday, August 28. Under this new agreement, the star athletes' authentic banter and insider sports knowledge will now reach global audiences.
''We couldn't be more excited to team up with Wondery for the next phase of New Heights,'' the Ohio natives said in a news release, prior to the new season's launch. ''We love this show and the fanbase that has grown with us over the last two seasons. Wondery understands the shared vision and will offer a wealth of experience and resources to take us to 'New Heights!' We are going to create some groundbreaking moments together through this partnership. We are thrilled to start Season 3 — see you soon, 92%ers!"
For those not in the loop, "92%ers" refers to die-hard fans of New Heights. The term sprang from the 36-year-old former Eagles center's football talk about a "quarterback sneak," which he claimed works "92% of the time." Although the podcast has always been a favorite among sports enthusiasts, its fan base of "92%ers" has dramatically increased since Travis, 34, began dating Taylor Swift last summer, bringing a wave of Swifties into the mix, who now make up a large chunk of the new listeners.
The NFL icons aren't the only ones thrilled about this mega-deal. "Since its first play, New Heights has brought hilarious, relevant commentary and interviews, and unprecedented insider access to the NFL season and professional sports," Sargent pointed out, adding, "Now a cultural phenomenon, we're excited to grow the New Heights brand together with Jason, Travis, and Amazon through Wondery's 360-approach that will engage and excite audiences across audio, video, live experiences, merch and more."
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