the podcast Studio owned by Amazon has signed a distribution and exclusive ad sales representation deal with the podcast from the two brothers turned NFL Stars the deal size was described as being in the nine figures and very competitive according to a person familiar with the matter as part of the multi-year deal wry will have global distribution rights to all audio and video episodes of the podcast the podcast's back catalog and the right to create International audio adaptations of the podcast the brothers launched the podcast in 201 22 with wave Sports Plus entertainment with behind the scenes looks at their football careers and their own lives as well as insights on the season and pop culture while Jason then a center for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and Travis a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs were already a draw the podcast entered a new level of the cultural Zeitgeist when Travis started dating Taylor Swift and began talking about life with the pop star on the podcast New Heights typically ranks as the top sports podcast on Apple and Spotify dur football season and has recently won ambes wees and shorty Awards in addition to podcast of the year at iHeart media's 2024 iHeart podcast Awards we've been watching the growth of the podcast really since it was launched and I have been building a relationship with Travis and Jason and getting to know them for a while now wry CEO Jen sergeant said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Sports is a really exciting category for podcast listeners it's a strategic priority of Wes and Amazon so there were a lot lot of reasons to think about joining forces here on the new heights podcast as part of the deal New Heights will still be available on all podcast services and on YouTube wry will also offer adree listening to wry plus subscribers and will have the right to host live streams and develop manufacture license and distribute merchandise based on New Heights wave Sports Plus entertainment will continue to provide Production Services for new heights this is the latest media move made by the Kelsey Brothers in May Jason announced his retirement from the NFL and has since joined ESPN as an analyst in addition to his ongoing football career Travis has also been tapped to host Amazon Prime's new game show spin-off are you smarter than a celebrity and is in talks to star in a new comedy from Lionsgate we couldn't be more excited to team up with wry for the next phase of new heights Travis and Jason Kelce said we love this show and the fan base that has grown with us over the last two seasons wry understands the shared vision and will offer a wealth of experience and resources to take us to new heights we are going to create some groundbreaking moments together through this partnership we are thrilled to start season 3 see you soon 92% airs wondery is also exploring potential Live Events sergeant said and looking into translating the podcast into different languages as well as potentially creating localized content or Live Events internationally depending on the market the company also has the right of first refusal for new shows from the Kelsey Brothers this deal follows W's distribution and AD sales deal with Dax Shepard's podcast armchair expert that deal announced in July was estimated at $80 million these in addition to siriusxm's $125 million deal with Alex Cooper and $100 million deal with smartless a former wry title have stood out in this new era of podcasting which has seen a slower pace of big budget deals compared to the spending spree of the past sergeant said the deals with new heights and armchair expert are part of W's strategy to work with shows coming from recognizable ENT mment and cultural figures who have established audiences W then comes in to grow the reach of the podcast and the brand with the added Boost from Amazon the podcast studio is also home to the podcasts we crashed and Dr death which were adapted to screen in addition to popular titles such as business Wars scam fluenc and how I built this we're a podcast Studio we're an ad Network we're making our own content but we're part of Amazon and we're thinking about it in terms of how we can take a 360 approach to Growing audiences growing IP expanding from audio into video into merch into Live Events and then more depending on the partner sergeant said