Conan O'Brien sells his podcast company to SiriusXM for $150 million

Team Coco is now Team Sirius.

SiriusXM has purchased comedian Conan O'Brien's podcast network in a deal that The Wall Street Journal reports is valued at roughly $150 million. This includes O'Brien's own hit podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, on which he interviews various celebrities. Past guests have included former President Barack Obama.

"When I started in television my ultimate goal was to work my way up to radio," O'Brien joked. "This new deal with SiriusXM builds on the great relationship that began several years ago with a team that is the standout in their field."

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O'Brien's network produces a number of other podcasts, including shows hosted by Rob Lowe and Curb Your Enthusiasm star J.B. Smoove. Sirius said that under O'Brien's five-year agreement, he'll keep hosting his podcast and will also produce a Team Coco comedy channel for SiriusXM subscribers. Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend will continue to be available on other platforms, the announcement said.

O'Brien launched his podcast in 2018 while he was still hosting his late night show on TBS. "It's not the natural career step," he told Variety in 2019. "I have a talk show, and it felt like maybe you do the podcast in order to get on TV. But when my staff approached me about it, I kind of thought what the heck? What do we have to lose?" He has since stepped away from late night with plans to debut a new show on HBO Max.