Bill Simmons has "bet big on digital audio at The Ringer" and he is "embracing his role as a contrarian in the media industry, where ad-supported business models are out of favor and podcasting is viewed as a low priority at the biggest players," according to Mullin & Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The L.A.-based company, whose head count "will reach 100 this year, doesn’t disclose detailed financials, like most startups." Sources said that The Ringer's podcast ad sales exceeded $15M in '18, and Simmons said that the company is "profitable." The Ringer "hasn’t raised money from venture-capital investors and says little about its ownership structure." Sources said that HBO acquired a 10% stake in the company as "part of an overall deal" in '15. While The Ringer’s web audience is "growing, it is much smaller than those of sports-media competitors like Bleacher Report and SB Nation." Simmons notes that sites like Turner-owned Bleacher Report have "been around for more than a decade." Sources said that HBO and Simmons "initially signed a three-year deal" worth $7M annually, and the company has since "signed him to another multiyear deal." A source said that the new deal "could exceed" $2M annually and "gives HBO first-look rights to content" from Simmons. Podcast advertising as a whole has "grown quickly," increasing 86% from '16 to '17, but it still "represents less than 1% of the overall U.S. digital ad market." Sources said that advertisers "pay between $25 to $50 for every 1,000 people who hear each ad on The Ringer’s podcasts" (WSJ.com, 1/28).
