How Did This Get Made? renews deal with SiriusXM

SiriusXM-owned Earwolf will continue to have exclusive distribution rights to the beloved comedy show.

The hit comedy podcast How Did This Get Made? is sticking with Earwolf. Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas, who host the show about terrible movies, have signed a multiyear deal to remain with the SiriusXM-owned podcast studio. SiriusXM spokesperson Ron Gaskill said the deal will keep most of the show’s archive behind Stitcher Premium’s paywall.

The critically beloved show, which dives into the world of terrible / amazing movies like Cats and Moonfall, has been under the Earwolf umbrella since it launched in 2010. “Twelve years ago, Earwolf believed in us before anyone even knew what a podcast was, and so we are thrilled to continue our relationship with them,” the hosts said in a joint statement. The deal also includes exclusive distribution and ad sales for film podcast Unspooled, which is co-hosted by Scheer and film critic Amy Nicholson.

How Did This Get Made? amasses about 40 million downloads a year, according to SiriusXM. That is enough to regularly rank among the top 50 comedy podcasts on Apple Podcasts, even if it is not as massive a hit as Earwolf juggernaut Office Ladies. The show has a loyal following and a deep catalog, which is likely why most episodes older than six months are exclusive to Stitcher Premium (which costs subscribers $4.99 per month). Stitcher also releases an archived episode wide every Monday, which will continue under the new deal, according to Gaskill.

The deal comes at a time when audio companies are jockeying for exclusive rights to top-performing podcasts. Spotify recently added Emma Chamberlain to its roster of buzzy, broad-appeal hosts, while Amazon’s Wondery has locked down hits like SmartLess and My Favorite Murder. 

SiriusXM, meanwhile, has cut deals with Crooked Media and Crime Junkie using a wider distribution model than Spotify (which is fully exclusive) or Wondery (which often locks its shows into a one-week exclusive window for new episodes). But SiriusXM’s bread and butter is the comedy inventory it purchased with its acquisition of Stitcher (which oversees Earwolf) in 2020. How Did This Get Made? is a pillar of Earwolf’s programming, and it is better to keep the hosts on board than to lose them to a competitor.