After his exit from The Daily Show, comedian Trevor Noah has landed a new home at Spotify with an exclusive podcast deal.
Spotify has adjusted its podcasting strategy in 2023, cleaning house and letting go of some of its less-than-profitable ventures. Now the audio streaming giant has tapped Trevor Noah to run a weekly show to “probably fix every single issue humankind has ever faced, so you definitely want to join us for every episode,” Noah jokes.
“The weekly podcast will blend Trevor’s signature humor and razor-sharp wit with his global perspective to deliver a unique take on the hottest and most captivating topics of the moment,” the press release reads. “Launching later this year, the series will also feature in-depth and freewheeling conversations between Trevor and some of the most influential and interesting figures around the world.”
The news was revealed during a conversation between Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and Trevor Noah during Spotify Beach, a celebration taking place during the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in France. It comes just days after Spotify severed ties with Archewell Audio, the company belonging to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. That multi-year partnership reportedly cost Spotify $20 million—and may not have been a clean split.
After the split was publicly announced as “mutually agreed to part ways,” sources close to Spotify say the couple’s sparse output was the prime factor in the break. The Guardian reports that the couple did not meet Spotify’s internal productivity benchmark to receive the full headline payout after only producing one 12-episode podcast series called Archetypes.
Ringer podcast network founder Bill Simmons had even harsher words for the royal couple. Simmons sold The Ringer to Spotify for $196 million in 2020—becoming a Spotify executive in the process.
“I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation,” Simmons said on an episode of his podcast. “The F*cking Grifters. That’s the podcast we should have launched with them. I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories—f*ck them. The grifters.”
Daniel Ek admitted its podcasting strategy of acquiring big names didn’t pan out in its $1 billion spend to acquire exclusive properties. “You’re right in calling out the overpaying and overinvesting,” Ek told one financial analyst during a conference call. “We’re going to be very diligent in how we invest in future content deals. And the ones that aren’t performing, we won’t renew.”