Spotify new home for Joe Rogan’s podcast, shares jump

(Reuters) – Spotify Technology SA said on Tuesday comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast will be available on the music streaming platform starting Sept. 1 and will become an exclusive later this year, sending shares 8% higher.

Rogan’s podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” is downloaded millions of times each month and is routinely featured among top podcasts on Apple’s charts.

He has interviewed well-known politicians and businessmen on the show, including Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.

The company did not disclose financial details of the multi-year agreement. The podcast will be free for all of the platform’s users.

“We will still have clips up on YouTube but full versions of the show will only be on Spotify,” Rogan said in an Instagram post https://www.instagram.com/p/CAYSqQLFP_l/?igshid=145vpohh7ddan.

Spotify, which has more than 700,000 podcasts on its platform and reaches nearly 300 million monthly users, has been investing heavily in the format, aiming to transform itself into the Netflix of audio.

Rogan will maintain full creative control over the show, Spotify said.

Spotify’s shares closed 8.4% higher at $174.91 on Tuesday, compared with a 1% drop in the S&P 500 Index <.SPX>.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)