Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: podcasts, spotify, the ringer, wrestling, wwe

WWE Launches Exclusive Podcast Network with The Ringer, Spotify

Published Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:07:10 -0500

For years, WWE has assaulted your senses primarily through the visual medium of television by producing upwards of 10 hours of boring wrestling programs per week. But soon, you will be able to be just as bored by listening to audio-only WWE content as you are from watching their TV Shows because WWE is launching its own exclusive podcast network with The Ringer and Spotify.

The official logo of the WWE.

From a WWE press release:

NEW YORK & STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The Ringer, a Spotify Studio (NYSE: SPOT), and WWE (NYSE: WWE) will launch an exclusive audio network as part of a multi-year audio content partnership, the companies announced today. As part of the deal, The Ringer and WWE will also collaborate to develop new, original audio content exclusively for the Spotify platform and Ringer website. In addition, existing WWE audio programming, which offers a unique look at the world of WWE both in the ring and beyond, will become available exclusively on Spotify.

The Ringer will be expanding its existing wrestling coverage. The current feed for The Masked Man Show hosted by David Shoemaker and Kaz, will rebrand to The Ringer Wrestling Show and will continue on that feed, alongside new programming from WWE personalities. Together, The Ringer and WWE will collaborate on new original podcast series, including a series from WWE personality Evan Mack, MackMania, and a narrative series produced by Bill Simmons. Utilizing Spotify Greenroom, hosts will be going live after every major WWE pay-per-view event with the final rooms becoming podcasts for The Ringer Wrestling Show.

To kick off the partnership, The Ringer will be on-site in Las Vegas leading into WWE's biggest event of 2021, SummerSlam, taking place this Saturday, August 21. This includes new episodes of The Ringer Wrestling Show with David Shoemaker, Evan Mack making his Ringer debut, and Spotify Greenroom live conversations. On site, there will be a co-branded footprint in the MGM Grand where fans will have the chance to get free Ringer/WWE SummerSlam merch and a photo opportunity.

The Ringer founder Bill Simmons had the following boilerplate press release quote about how excited everyone is to be working with each other to regurgitate about the deal:

"The Ringer is the premier destination for sports fandom, and WWE has used amazing storytelling and iconic characters to establish a global audience of loyal and passionate fans, making this partnership a perfect match," said Bill Simmons, Founder of The Ringer. "As a lifelong WWE fan, I couldn't be more excited to work with them to take a fresh perspective on their most iconic moments and superstars, and leverage Spotify's global scale to share content that we believe everyone will enjoy."

WWE President Nick Khan responded in kind:

"Bill and his team at The Ringer consistently find ways to create premium content that drives conversation and appeals to fans of sports, entertainment and pop culture," said Nick Khan, WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer. "We believe this collaboration will deliver a podcast slate that excites existing fans while also introducing WWE content to the millions of Spotify listeners."

So everyone is excited. Got it? Afterward, Khan was so excited he fired another dozen WWE wrestlers. Hopefully someone is left on the roster to actually do these podcast interviews by the time Khan is done.

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