Wondery has snapped up the rights to the podcast New Heights With Jason and Travis Kelce.
The podcast studio, owned by Amazon, has signed a distribution and exclusive ad-sales representation deal with the podcast from the two brothers turned NFL stars. The deal size was described as being in the nine figures and “very competitive,” according to a person familiar with the matter.
As part of the multiyear deal, Wondery will have global distribution rights to all audio and video episodes of the podcast, the podcast’s back catalog and the right to create international audio adaptations of the podcast.
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The brothers launched the podcast in 2022, with Wave Sports + Entertainment, with behind-the-scenes looks at their football careers and their own lives, as well as insights on the season and pop culture. While Jason, then a center for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League, and Travis, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, were already a draw, the podcast entered a new level of the cultural zeitgeist when Travis started dating Taylor Swift and began talking about life with the pop star on the podcast.
New Heights typically ranks as the top sports podcast on Apple and Spotify during football season, and has recently won Ambies, Webbys and Shorty awards, in addition to podcast of the year at iHeartMedia’s 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards.
“We’ve been watching the growth of the podcast, really since it was launched, and I have been building a relationship with Travis and Jason and getting to know them for a while now,” Wondery CEO Jen Sargent said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Sports is a really exciting category for podcast listeners. It’s a strategic priority of Wondery’s and Amazon’s. So there were a lot of reasons to think about joining forces here on the New Heights podcast.”
As part of the deal, New Heights will still be available on all podcast services and on YouTube. Wondery will also offer ad-free listening to Wondery+ subscribers and will have the right to host livestreams, and develop, manufacture, license and distribute merchandise based on New Heights.Wave Sports + Entertainment will continue to provide production services for New Heights.
This is the latest media move made by the Kelce brothers. In May, Jason announced his retirement from the NFL and has since joined ESPN as an analyst. In addition to his ongoing football career,Travis has also been tapped to host Amazon Prime’s new game show spinoff Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? and is in talks to star in a new comedy from Lionsgate.
“We couldn’t be more excited to team up with Wondery for the next phase of New Heights,” Travis and Jason Kelce said. “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!”
Wondery is also exploring potential live events, Sargent said, and looking into translating the podcast into different languages, as well as potentially creating localized content or live events internationally, depending on the market. The company also has the right of first refusal for new shows from the Kelce brothers.
This deal follows Wondery’s distribution and ad sales deal with Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert. That deal, announced in July, was estimated at $80 million. These, in addition to SiriusXM’s $125 million deal with Alex Cooper and $100 million deal with SmartLess, a former Wondery title, have stood out in this new era of podcasting, which has seen a slower pace of big-budget deals compared to the spending sprees of the past.
Sargent said the deals with New Heights and Armchair Expert are part of Wondery’s strategy to “work with shows coming from recognizable entertainment and cultural figures who have established audiences.” Wondery then comes in to grow the reach of the podcast and the brand, with the added boost from Amazon. The podcast studio is also home to the podcasts WeCrashed and Dr. Death, which were adapted to screen, in addition to popular titles such as Business Wars, Scamfluencers and How I Built This.
“We’re a podcast studio, we’re an ad network, we’re making our own content, but we’re part of Amazon, and we’re thinking about it in terms of how we can take a 360-approach to growing audiences, growing IP, expanding from audio into video, into merch, into live events and and more, depending on the partner,” Sargent said.
Aaron Eanes, co-founder of A&A Management, which helped launch New Heights, added: “The tremendous growth of New Heights over the past few years is a testament to the talent and dedication that Travis and Jason — as well as the fantastic team behind the scenes — continue to pour into every episode. We are excited to partner with Wondery for this new chapter of the podcast and look forward to reaching new heights.”
