Political podcasting is the hottest career right now: Congressmen, journalists and comedians land multi-million dollar deals and sell-out shows

Once a niche on the fringes of mainstream media, political podcasts have come of age. They’ve fueled best-selling book releases, sold-out shows and their first break into mainstream television, thrusting these new media stars into the spotlight in one of the biggest media moments of the year.

A group of the country’s rising political podcasters have emerged as some of the most important figures in the campaign, restarting their careers and cementing themselves as entrepreneurs in their own right.

Former political heavyweights such as Alastair Campbell, Rory Stewart, Ed Balls, George Osbourne and some from the BBC Former top talent are taking leading roles in election coverage on the country’s major TV networks, blazing a trail for a new world of podcasting.

The rest is politics

At first glance, the pairing of former Conservative cabinet minister Rory Stewart and Tony Blair’s Labor communications director Alastair Campbell may seem an odd one, but in a short time In just two years, their show has grown to become the most popular political podcast in the UK.

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The rest is politics Revealing the Secrets of Westminster provides, in their own words, “…an insider’s view of politics at home and abroad, while reviving the lost art of agreeing to disagree”. In January 2023, the pair added lead, A weekly series of interviews with some of the biggest names in world politics.

In April 2024, the podcast expanded across the Atlantic, launching The rest is American politics, Creates another unlikely couple with political heavyweights Anthony Scaramucci (Donald Trump’s former White House press secretary) and Katie Kay (former BBC World News anchor).

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Stewart and Campbell are published by the Goalhanger podcast, which is currently one of the largest independent podcast networks in the UK, with a reported 17.5 million downloads per month.

Goalhanger was founded by football pundit and former England footballer Gary Linekar, which has grown a range of successful podcasts including The rest is football, empire, and the top 10 in the day’s competition.

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Goalhanger has limited financial information, but company accounts show its “current assets” more than tripled last year to 842,936 pounds ($1.08 million).

The company’s revenue-sharing model means that when their podcast wins, Goalhanger wins too. That makes Stewart and Campbell among its most valuable assets.

The rest is politics It has grown into a substantial media franchise in its own right, with premium memberships and live shows across the UK, selling out at major 20,000-seat venues such as London’s O2 Arena.

Both Stewart and Campbell have relaunched their careers with best-selling book deals and gigs, including coveted overnight coverage of the 2024 election on Channel 4 television, marking a major move from new media to mass media television change.

Unsurprisingly, revenue from advertising, subscriptions and live shows such as O2 shows has also boosted the pair’s bank accounts. Towards times of london Last year, Stewart said: “It’s fantastic. It’s good money. I would say it’s championship footballer’s money. Championship footballers playing in the second tier of the English Football League usually earn thousands a month. GBP.

news agent

Stewart and Campbell are covering UK election night for Channel 4, along with Emily Maitlis. Prince is famous.

Maitlis is now best known as a third news agent, main competitors The rest is politics, Since the podcast launched in August 2022, it has consistently topped the charts.

news agent Maitlis joins two other superstar heavyweight presenters, including her former BBC Newsnight colleague Lewis Goodall and BBC News North America correspondent Jon Sopel. Jon Sopel). Published by broadcast and advertising giant Global, it poached some of the BBC’s top talent at launch and is seen as an important milestone in the rapid rise of British podcasts

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Get rid of the strict reporting restrictions of the BBC, news agent The show quickly gained popularity by allowing listeners for the first time to hear the real thoughts of experienced journalists Maitlis, Goodall and Sopel. The show, which airs a few episodes every Sunday, has been a commercial success since it aired, attracting launch sponsorship from BT and a recent extension deal with HSBC UK.

imitate their main competitors The rest is politics, In June 2023, former BBC North America editors Jon Sopel and Emily Maitlis launched a weekly spin-off show called U.S. News Agents. The spin-off series attracted international attention after a recording of an altercation with Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene went viral, in which she told Maitlis she was a “conspiracy theorist” and “why don’t you go away” , how about that? Maitlis responded with a wonderful British retort: ​​”Thank you, thank you very much.”

full disclosure

Award-winning presenter and best-selling author James O’Brien also started out on the BBC’s Newsnight television program before becoming one of the biggest political presenters on British radio.

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LBC Radio (part of the global media group which also publishes news agent) It has been his full-time home since 2004, where he is known as one of Britain’s toughest interviewers and one of Brexit’s toughest critics. O’Brien is considered a divisive figure in the political arena, described as a “liberal demagogue” and a “thundering, sanctimonious bore”.

His team cleverly uses social videos on platforms like Twitter (X), Facebook and YouTube to amplify his epic rants, which sometimes last for more than 10 minutes and have been viewed up to 4 million times. LBC refuses to play three podcasts on radio show, including James O’Brien, “The Complete Show,” “The Mysterious Hours of James O’Brien” and “The Best of James O’Brien.”

In March 2019, O’Brien launched full disclosure Enter the world of podcasts, Hour-long interviews with leaders from the worlds of politics, entertainment and journalism. This long-form, in-depth format has been a huge success and stands in stark contrast to a media world dominated by short soundbites and clips for social media.

[Full Disclosure with James O’Brien] BONUS EPISODE – #internationalpodcastday #fullDisclosureWithJamesObrien https://t.co/yyOFOUu0EW via @PodcastAddict pic.twitter.com/uD5uFlSDQP

— John Reynolds ⚒️ (@JJMReynolds) September 30, 2019

Global bets on podcasting with heavyweights like James O’Brien news agent Helping it become a multi-billion dollar company. The company’s accounts show that turnover last year exceeded 806 million pounds ($1.03 billion) and net profit was 138 million pounds ($176 million).

political currency

Continuing on the previous theme of unlikely pairings, political currency Former Labor cabinet minister Ed Balls and former Conservative chancellor George Osborne come together for a fascinating look at the murky world of politics and economics.

🎙️A new chapter in political currency…

🥊 Should Starmer “get to the point”?
😳 Will Labour’s tax pledge turn into tax betrayal?
🗡️Is Starmer using Corbyn to become leader?

🎧 Listen: https://t.co/9qA6ffpP8h pic.twitter.com/OIMvieddPo

— Political Currency (@polcurrency) June 27, 2024

Production company Persophonica produces the show and is also the company behind rival shows Press Agents and Dua Lipa: At your service, One of the most listened to entertainment podcasts in the world.

Osbourne and Bowles, known as former “frenemies,” launched the podcast in September 2023 and quickly climbed to the top of the UK podcast charts. political currency There is an ironic name for “these people are completely drained of resources.”

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Osborne and Bowles may have had the last laugh, as did their rivals Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell The rest is politics and Emily Maitlis from news agent, The pair rose to prominence during the election and became guest co-presenters of ITV News’ coverage of the 2024 election.

political party

Launched in 2013 by impressionist painter and writer Matt Forde, political party is one of the UK’s best-known political podcasts.

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like its competitors The rest is politics, Ford’s foray into podcasting has grown into a serious media business in its own right, with live recordings at theaters often selling out months in advance. To date, the series has performed 70 sold-out shows over the past seven years.

The show is unique in that it blends political parody and comedic impressions, while also featuring in-depth interviews with some of the biggest names in politics, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (now Meta’s Managing Director of Global Affairs ).

Ford is considered one of Britain’s best impressionists and is known for making guests on the show burst into laughter with his hilarious and realistic impressions of high-profile figures such as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former President Donald Trump.

For the 2024 general election, Ford has launched an ambitious project to interview as many candidates as possible from the UK’s 650 constituencies. As of this writing, he has interviewed a total of 133 candidates over the course of 24 episodes during the campaign, providing an impressive insight into behind-the-scenes campaigns across the country.

“I’m going to find a way to get to 650,” he said in his final episode before the July 4 election.