When will Joe Rogan's exclusive podcast deal with Spotify expire? Will the platform renew the contract? Here's everything you need to know

Joe Rogan is the world's most successful podcaster. The Joe Rogan Experience inspired many content creators on the internet to try their hand at podcasting. The sheer number of views and popularity that the UFC color commentator enjoyed drew the attention of Spotify, an audio streaming platform.

While full episodes of Rogan's podcast were once uploaded to YouTube, Spotify signed him to an exclusive 3.5-year contract with them, reportedly worth roughly $200 million. The deal was made back in 2020, so with 2023 drawing to a close, there are only a few months before it expires. But will Spotify renew the contract?

The Joe Rogan Experience is the most lucrative podcast on the platform, with reports estimating 11 million listeners per month. However, Spotify CEO and co-founder Daniel Elk recently told investors that he would neither overpay nor over-invest in podcasts, as doing so led to an expenditure of $1 billion.

Furthermore, Spotify reported a $248 million loss in its first quarter. Worse still, the platform's CCO, Dawn Ostroff, who guided its approach in podcast deals, is no longer with them. Similarly, Courtney Holt, who was fundamental to negotiating the deal with Rogan, is no longer with Spotify either.

During Spotify's second quarter earnings call, however, Daniel Elk spoke about having more data compared to previous years, enabling him to determine which podcasts were financially rewarding, and which ones weren't. He stated that while some podcasts will be retained, others won't.

Though there was no specific mention of Rogan, it is worth noting that Spotify recently signed a high-profile deal with Trevor Noah, albeit with no exclusivity clause. Given that Noah's profile in the podcasting world is much smaller than Rogan's, it is more than likely that the JRE will be retained.

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What is the most watched episode of The Joe Rogan Experience?

Joe Rogan's podcast is known for having a variety of guests from different walks of life. Sometimes, he interviews fighters, occasionally leading to infamous moments like him telling original BMF champion Jorge Masvidal that he believes he'd have troubled Georges St-Pierre. However, other episodes have drawn more attention.

Thus far, the podcast's most watched episode is #1169, which featured the internet-breaking clip of Elon Musk smoking marijuana. The SpaceX CEO has gone on to appear in other episodes of the podcast, and even flirted with breaking into the combat sports world, where Rogan is a well-known figure.