SiriusXM Acquires Conan’s Team Coco

• SiriusXM announced the acquisition of Conan O’Brien‘s Team Coco, including the critically-acclaimed hit podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, and the Conan O’Brien-led podcast network and digital media business. The transaction also brings to SiriusXM Team Coco’s staff, who will continue to produce the network’s slate of popular podcasts, as well as collaborate on content for SiriusXM. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although The Wall Street Journal pegged the value of the transaction at around $150 million.

As part of the deal, O’Brien has entered into a five-year talent agreement with SiriusXM, under which he will remain host of his namesake podcast, which will continue to be available widely, and will also collaborate with SiriusXM to create and executive-produce a new fulltime, original Team Coco comedy channel for SiriusXM subscribers. The agreement also includes distribution of select video from Conan’s podcast as well as from the archives of his long-running late night show on TBS, live events, and merchandise from the Team Coco brands.

Since its inception over a decade ago, Team Coco has garnered more than 1 billion annual video views across YouTube and Facebook, averages 180 million annual podcast downloads, and now reaches 17 million fans across social media. Team Coco’s flagship podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, which was developed with Stitcher’s Earwolf, ranks as one of the top five most searched-for podcasts, and recently won two Webby Awards.

By becoming a part of SiriusXM, the leading home of comedy in audio entertainment, Team Coco gains the promotional power of the SiriusXM, Pandora and Stitcher listening platforms — amplifying the network’s voices and extending the Team Coco brand to new audiences.

“When I started in television my ultimate goal was to work my way up to radio,” O’Brien quipped. “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.” Scott Greenstein, President & Chief Content Officer of SiriusXM, noted, “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. 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.”