Goalhanger announced last week that it had reached a major milestone: 250,000 paying subscribers across its network of shows, with estimated subscription revenue of £15m per year.
Upcoming distribution partner for Goalhanger’s The Rest is Football, Netflix, also announced its first original video podcast, The Pete Davidson Show, hosted by Pete Davidson and launching on 30 January.
This signals a strong continuation of the transition from audio-only podcasts to “shows” that garner community fandoms and wider commercial opportunities.
Memberships are live for eight of 14 Goalhanger shows, including: The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics, The Rest Is Politics: US, The Rest Is Entertainment, Empire, We Have Ways of Making You Talk, The Rest Is Classified, and Sherlock & Co.
The Rest is History, Goalhanger’s flagship show, reportedly has 120,000+ paying members and offers a premium “Athelstan” level for £25 per month, with access to a twice-yearly party and a quarterly Zoom quiz.
Goalhanger also announced on Wednesday the launch of The Rest is History Festival, a two-day, members-only takeover with the recognition that “theatre tours and meet-us were no longer enough.”
The festival will feature live recordings with guest historians and special sessions, re-enactments, music, entertainment as well as food and drink. However, most importantly Goalhanger situates this as a chance for The Rest is History community to come together.
The average subscriber pays £60 per year, split roughly 50/50 between monthly and annual payments, and receives benefits such as ad-free listening, early access to shows, and bonus content. Further benefits include email newsletters, early access to live show tickets and members-only chatrooms on Discord.
The subscriber benefits are examples of what can be done around popular podcast shows and of opportunities to build recurring revenue into business models.
Analysis: Moving the goalpost
Speaking on the Media Club podcast, Conrad Withey, the chief commercial officer at Goalhanger, highlighted the advantages of the membership model. He said: “At the end of the day, we’re creating fandoms around our shows, and nearly always, those fans want more. If we can give them that, and turn it into a business model that complements everything else we do, that’s powerful.
“The lovely thing about membership is that you get to know your listener, your viewer, your customer. It’s a different relationship – a much more intimate one. Podcasts naturally offer that lean-in experience, where audiences feel close to the hosts and want deeper engagement. And through membership, you gain data and insight that also strengthens the advertising side.”
Withey acknowledged that “last year advertising sponsorship will still be the lion’s share from a revenue perspective,” but highlighted that “recurring revenue is one of the most attractive business models.”
The milestone follows the recent recruitment of former Sunday Times journalist Emily Kent Smith to the new role of editorial director. A spokesperson for Goalhanger stated how “Emily’s role is to come in and look at how we can enhance our written offering in and around the shows, including newsletter and premium content such as long-reads.”
The talent was outlined as central to the success, and Withey said how “everything we do contributes to that partnership”, pointing to the caveat of how subscription and advertising revenue is split between Goalhanger, hosts, and the platforms powering membership systems such as Supporting Cast, its subscription platform and other listening platforms such as Apple Podcasts.
Goalhanger currently receives around 70m full-length episode views per month across audio and video for its 14 regular shows.
Netflix’s video podcast prerogative
Withey also acknowledged on the Media Club podcast the launch of Netflix’s first original video podcast, which will be exclusive to Netflix and will not appear on any other platforms, including audio versions.
The move follows October announcements of a deal between Spotify and Netflix, which saw a selection of Spotify’s top video podcasts appear on Netflix. The partnership brings sports, culture, lifestyle and true crime podcasts from Spotify and The Ringer (owned by Spotify), which align with Netflix’s programming.
During the World Cup from 11 June to 19 July, Netflix will also show The Rest is Football, with episodes available on YouTube, arguably Netflix’s biggest competitor.
Withey expressed excitement about the “potential of what this could be,” suggesting that Netflix is “testing its approach to the podcast space.”
These recent developments clearly signal Netflix’s push into the podcast space, with a strong focus on video—an increasingly evolving medium.
*This article was updated with the detail of The Rest is History Festival on Wednesday 21 January.
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