Sirius XM Acquires Team Coco

SiriusXM (the home of Marvel's podcast content) announced on Tuesday it is acquiring Team Coco, Conan O'Brien's podcast network and digital media company, including its flagship podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, hosted by O'Brien. Team Coco's staff will become SiriusXM employees and continue to produce Team Coco's podcasts while also collaborating on other SiriusXM content, according to a press release. The deal also enters O'Brien into a five-year talent contract with SiriusXM, keeping him as host of Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, which will remain widely available. O'Brien will also work to create and executive produce a new Team Coco comedy channel for SiriusXM subscribers with original content. The agreement also covers the distribution of select video from O'Brien's podcast, the archive of his TBS late-night show, and live events, as well as Team Coco merchandise.

Founded in 2010, Team Coco has garnered more than 1 billion annual video views across YouTube and Facebook, averages 180 million annual podcast downloads, and reaches 17 million fans across social media. Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, originally developed with Stitcher's Earwolf, is one of the five most-searched-for podcasts, and recently won two Webby Awards. 

"When I started in television my ultimate goal was to work my way up to radio," O'Brien says in the press release. "This new deal with SiriusXM builds on the great relationship that began several years ago with a team that is the standout in their field."

"We are thrilled that Conan remains committed to producing his incredibly successful podcast and will now expand his role into executive producing an exclusive Team Coco radio channel for SiriusXM," said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer of SiriusXM. "Conan has built an amazing brand and organization at Team Coco with a proven track record of finding and launching compelling and addictive podcasts. We look forward to continuing to grow the Team Coco brand."

Beyond Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, Team Coco's podcasts include Nicole Byer's Why Won't You Date Me?, JB Smoove's May I Elaborate?, and Stitcher co-productions Scam Goddess with Laci Mosley, Literally! with Rob Lowe, The Three Questions with Andy Richter, and Parks and Recollection. Team Coco has also produced digital videos, social media, and live events.

SiriusXM states that Team Coco podcasts will continue to be available on Stitcher, the SXM App, Pandora, and other major podcast listening platforms. Team Coco is joining SiriusXM's existing comedy offering, including channels like Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud Radio, Netflix is a Joke Radio, Comedy Central Radio, as well as Stitcher's Earwolf content such as How Did This Get Made?, Office Ladies, Storytime with Seth Rogen, and others.