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In early February, it was announced that Spotify was set to acquire Bill Simmons’ “The Ringer” as the service looks to expand its podcast business. Now, we are beginning to learn more about the acquisition.
According to a report from Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg, Spotify paid $250 million to land The Ringer.
The deal will be a four-year deal, though few details were revealed at the time of the announcement, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“With this acquisition, Spotify continues to deliver against its goal to become the world’s leading audio platform,” the company said in a statement. “We look forward to putting the full power of Spotify behind The Ringer as they drive our global sports strategy.”
The website will continue to operate as usual with all 90 employees expected to keep their jobs.
“As we set out to expand our sports and entertainment offerings, we wanted a best-in-class editorial team,” Spotify content chief Dawn Ostroff said in a statement. “Bill Simmons is one of the brightest minds in the game and he has successfully innovated as a writer and content creator across mediums and platforms. The Ringer’s proven track record of creating distinctive cultural content as well as discovering and developing top-tier talent will make them a formidable asset for Spotify.”
In the report, it was also revealed that HBO had a 10 percent share in The Ringer.
