Don’t let anyone tell you that the podcast space is dead. At least not if you already have a major podcast hosted by three of Hollywood’s best. SiriusXM today announced a new, multi-year agreement with the SmartLess podcast (via its parent company, SmartLess Media) and founders Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes “that will bring certain exclusive advertising and distribution rights, content, events, and more.”
SmartLess already is available on SiriusXM, but the new deal means the company is moving from Amazon — with which it signed in 2021, a year after the original SmartLess podcast launch — to the SiriusXM Podcast Network. Bloomberg reported the deal is worth more than $100 million.
“At SiriusXM, we are proud to be home to the stars, and with Jason, Sean, and Will joining us, that statement has never been more true,” Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer of SiriusXM, said in a press release. “Over the past several years, we have doubled down on our commitment to podcasting, and with the addition of SmartLess, we are strengthening our leadership position in podcasting. This groundbreaking new collaboration showcases our power to drive growth for an established podcast while bringing unique value back to our subscribers through exclusive content and events.”
The SmartLess signing comes amid the new era of SiriusXM, which the company unveiled in late 2023. SmartLess joins a podcast stable that also includes giants like Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Ashley Flowers’ Crime Junkie, Crooked Media, Pod Save America, and more.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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