Rogan show reaches 28.4 million U.S. listeners in Q2 2026
Spotify has renewed its multiyear partnership with podcaster Joe Rogan, securing licensing rights and ad sales for “The Joe Rogan Experience” on terms similar to the prior deal, which had an estimated earnout of $250 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
Rogan confirmed the renewal in a statement. “The partnership with Spotify has been an amazing fit, and they’re incredible to work with,” Rogan said. “I’m extremely happy and excited to continue with them for years to come.”
The show has been No. 1 on Edison Research’s list of the most listened-to podcasts in the U.S. since tracking began in 2019. It has more than 18 million followers on Spotify and more than 21 million on YouTube. In the second quarter of 2026, “The Joe Rogan Experience” was reaching about 28.4 million Americans, up from 6.6 million at the beginning of 2020, according to Edison.
Launched in 2009, the show was a pioneer of the long-form video-podcast format, with Rogan hosting fellow comedians, Hollywood A-listers, politicians, scientists and authors for wide-ranging conversations sometimes running over three hours. The show also became a platform for young, male talent that came to be known as the “manosphere.”
Rogan has been, at once, a fan of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and an outspoken critic of “woke” and “cancel” culture. He interviewed and endorsed Donald Trump before the 2024 election. On election night, UFC Chief Executive Dana White, a Trump ally, thanked Rogan from the stage, calling him “the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan.”
Rogan has since spoken out against the Trump administration on certain issues, including immigration enforcement. Many of his biggest episodes over the past year have been nonpolitical, including interviews with actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, YouTuber MrBeast and UFO enthusiast Bob Lazar.
Spotify first signed Rogan in 2020, paying more than $100 million to bring the show exclusively to its platform and help jump-start its then-nascent podcast business. While some other shows that went exclusively to Spotify lost audience, “The Joe Rogan Experience” has grown.
In early 2024, Spotify renewed the partnership but began distributing the show across podcast platforms, including YouTube. Spotify has remained hands-off with the show, with Rogan and his small team retaining editorial control.
The arrangement drew public attention in 2022, when Neil Young pulled his music catalog from the service, citing what he said was vaccine misinformation spread by Rogan. Spotify backed Rogan at the time. Young returned his catalog to Spotify in 2024.
The company has said that authors, musicians and comedians get a boost from appearances on Rogan’s show, with listeners seeking out guests’ work across other podcasts, music and audiobooks.
Jordan Newman, Spotify’s head of content partnerships, said the company’s podcast business has grown alongside “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Spotify, the largest audiostreaming service, has 300 million premium subscribers.
“Joe has built something incredibly enduring, and his show continues to resonate with a massive global audience because there’s simply nothing else like it,” Newman said.