Photo Credit: Alex Cooper’s Instagram
Video episodes of Alex Cooper’s ‘Call Her Daddy’ are moving from Spotify and will only be available on YouTube.
The video episodes of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy, as well as video episodes of other podcasts from her Unwell Network, will be migrating from Spotify to YouTube. This includes Hot Mess with Alix Earle, and Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy. Audio versions of all podcasts will remain widely available.
Cooper posted about the change on Monday in an Instagram Story, describing it as a way to watch “all new episodes of ‘Call Her Daddy’ on YouTube for free.” The change comes after SiriusXM’s deal to acquire Cooper’s podcast network for up to $125 million beginning this year. The most popular female podcaster worldwide, Cooper had previously been part of Spotify’s slate of shows.
Spotify already relinquished exclusivity of Cooper’s podcast last year, before the deal with SiriusXM, which made the audio version available on all platforms. But Spotify still retained exclusivity over the video version of her shows, which is massively popular among her fans.
Cooper’s move to YouTube should bring her shows a potentially broader audience. Enabling fans to watch the video version for free comes as SiriusXM looks to bring in more ad dollars on shows like Cooper’s podcast. Meanwhile, Spotify has been moving to prioritize video with fewer ads on its platform.
“I am beyond excited to work with SiriusXM,” said Cooper at the time the deal was announced back in August. “The Daddy Gang will always be my top priority, and with SiriusXM we will continue to find new ways to evolve and provide my listeners the best experience. The Daddy Gang wants more, so we’re getting ready to give them more… I can’t wait for this new chapter to begin.”
Alex Cooper’s podcast network has been a huge draw for Spotify since its launch in 2018. Call Her Daddy has consistently ranked No. 2 behind Joe Rogan’s podcast. Poaching her content from Spotify is a major get for SiriusXM, but industry experts wonder if the satellite radio company may have overpaid. Spotify opted not to renew its three-year $60 million arrangement with Cooper in 2021; SiriusXM reportedly paid between $100 million and $125 million for its deal.