Unwell Network
Alex Cooper turned a raunchy podcast she recorded in her apartment into a $125 million media deal. The difference between her and her co-host came down to one decision about who owned what.
Alex Cooper launched Call Her Daddy in October 2018 with her college roommate Sofia Franklyn. Two months later, downloads had grown from 12,000 to 2 million. Eighteen months after that, Cooper was signing a $60 million exclusive deal with Spotify. Three years after that, she signed a $125 million deal with SiriusXM for her podcast network. Her co-founder got none of it.
The two women made different decisions at a critical moment in 2020, and those decisions led to entirely different outcomes. Understanding why is the whole lesson.
At a glance:
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder | Alex Cooper |
| Flagship show | Call Her Daddy |
| Network | Unwell Network (11+ podcasts) |
| Employees | ~100 |
| SiriusXM deal | $125 million (2024, 3 years) |
| Spotify deal | $60 million (2021, 3 years) |
| Estimated annual revenue | $50M+ |
| Net worth estimate | $60M+ (2026) |
| Call Her Daddy listeners | 10 million |
The Story
How it started
Alex Cooper grew up in Newtown, Pennsylvania, played Division I soccer at Boston University, graduated with a degree in Film and Television, and moved to New York to sell advertising. She was 23. By 2018, she and her roommate Sofia Franklyn had an idea: a podcast that talked about sex and dating the way men had been doing it for years, but from a woman’s perspective, completely unfiltered.
The first episode of Call Her Daddy aired on October 3, 2018, titled “Sext Me So I Know It’s Real.” Within one month, they had signed with Barstool Sports. Within two months, downloads had climbed from 12,000 to 2 million. The “Daddy Gang,” as the audience called themselves, was an unusually devoted community. Cooper and Franklyn had identified a real gap: women wanted to hear other women talk honestly about the parts of their lives that polite media wouldn’t touch.
By 2020, Call Her Daddy was one of the most downloaded podcasts in the country. Then it almost ended.
The split
In spring 2020, a very public dispute emerged between the hosts and Barstool founder Dave Portnoy over contract terms. Portnoy offered to increase their base salaries to $500,000 each, raise their share of merchandise revenue, and gradually transition the intellectual property ownership of the Call Her Daddy name to the hosts. It was a significant offer.
Sofia Franklyn rejected it, reportedly influenced by her then-boyfriend Peter Nelson, an HBO Sports executive, who allegedly advised her against accepting and shopped the show to other distributors. Cooper accepted.
Their last episode together was April 8, 2020. Franklyn went on to launch her own podcast, “Sofia with an F,” and later signed a memoir deal with Simon & Schuster about the experience. Cooper kept Call Her Daddy, eventually acquired full ownership of the name, and used it as the foundation for everything that came after.
The IP question, which probably seemed like a secondary detail inside the negotiation, turned out to be the whole thing. The person who controlled the name controlled the future.
The Spotify deal
In June 2021, Spotify announced an exclusive multiyear deal with Cooper worth $60 million over three years. At the time, it was the largest exclusive podcast deal Spotify had ever made with a woman. The announcement came with a meaningful detail that most coverage glossed over: Cooper had turned down larger offers from other platforms. She chose Spotify not just for the money but for the infrastructure, the audience data, and what the relationship could enable.
The Spotify deal was exclusive in the sense that Spotify had exclusive advertising and content rights, but it did not trap Cooper in a closed ecosystem permanently. When the deal ended in 2024, she was free to move, and she did.
Building the network
Between 2021 and 2024, Cooper did not spend her time recording Call Her Daddy. She spent it building infrastructure around it. The Unwell Network launched as a vehicle for signing other creators and producing their shows under one roof. The strategy was to find hosts with dedicated audiences and genuine personalities, not just follower counts, and give them the production support, brand relationships, and distribution that individual creators typically cannot access on their own.
Alix Earle joined with “Hot Mess.” Madeline Argy launched “Pretty Lonesome.” Harry Jowsey, Owen Thiele, Grace O’Malley, and others followed. By 2024, the network had 11 active shows and approximately 100 employees across podcast production, content development, merchandise, and events.
The SiriusXM deal
In August 2024, SiriusXM announced a $125 million, three-year deal for exclusive advertising and distribution rights to Call Her Daddy and the entire Unwell Network slate. The deal also covered content, events, and additional programming development. SiriusXM launched two dedicated channels: Unwell On Air and Unwell Music.
The math is notable. The Spotify deal paid $60 million over three years. The SiriusXM deal paid $125 million over three years. That doubling did not happen because the podcast got twice as popular. It happened because Cooper now had a network, not just a show. The thing she was selling to SiriusXM was not one audience. It was eleven of them, plus the infrastructure to keep building more.
The Strategy
Own your intellectual property
The 2020 decision to accept Barstool’s IP transition offer rather than reject it was the foundation of everything that came after. A name, a brand, and an audience are worth nothing if you don’t own them. Cooper accepted a deal that offered less immediate upside in exchange for eventual ownership of the asset itself. That trade paid off completely.
Most creators who build audiences on someone else’s platform or under someone else’s deal structure are building someone else’s asset. The audience follows the name. If you don’t own the name, you don’t own what matters.
Use each deal to build leverage for the next one
Cooper’s deal progression went from nothing, to Barstool, to a $60 million Spotify deal, to a $125 million SiriusXM deal. Each deal made the next negotiation easier because each deal proved the audience was real and growing. But the leverage also came from not being trapped. The Spotify deal ended on her terms. She had built something that multiple platforms wanted, which meant she could pit them against each other.
Most people assume podcast stars are just content creators who got lucky. The reality is that Cooper ran a competitive deal process with major media companies, turned down offers she found unfavorable (including one from Amazon), and negotiated terms that doubled her per-year rate over three years. That is active business building, not passive audience accumulation.
Build a network, not just a show
A single podcast, no matter how popular, is a single point of failure. If Cooper gets sick or bored or wants to do something else, Call Her Daddy stops. The Unwell Network diversifies that risk while also dramatically increasing the asset’s value. A portfolio of 11 shows with a total audience of tens of millions is worth more than one show, even if that one show is Call Her Daddy.
The network model also creates advantages individual creators cannot access: shared advertising relationships, production infrastructure, talent development, and the ability to launch new shows without starting from zero. When Grace O’Malley launched “DisGRACEful” through Unwell in 2025, she got everything Cooper spent years building on her own in a fraction of the time.
Extend into adjacent categories carefully
By 2025, Unwell had expanded into merchandise, live touring, a beverage line (Unwell Hydration, launched at Target in January 2025 with a Nestlé partnership), a creative agency serving brands like Google, and television production through Unwell Productions. Cooper hosted and executive produced the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special for Disney+ in March 2026 and launched a dating show, Love Overboard, on Hulu the same month.
Each extension reinforced the core brand rather than diluting it. Unwell Hydration connects to the lifestyle Cooper built around the show. The creative agency services exist because brands want access to her audience and her team’s creative understanding of that audience. The television work is a natural evolution for someone with a Film and Television degree who has been producing engaging audio content for seven years.
The Numbers
All revenue figures are estimates. The Unwell Network is a private company and has not disclosed official financials.
| Deal | Year | Value | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barstool Sports | 2018 | Not disclosed | 3 years |
| Spotify exclusive | 2021 | $60 million | 3 years |
| SiriusXM/Unwell Network | 2024 | $125 million | 3 years |
Annual revenue breakdown (estimated, 2025):
| Stream | Estimated Annual |
|---|---|
| SiriusXM deal (advertising/distribution) | ~$41.7M |
| Live events and touring | $5M+ |
| Merchandise | $3M+ |
| Unwell Hydration | Not disclosed |
| Creative agency and brand partnerships | $5M+ |
| Total | $50M+ |
Cooper’s Forbes-estimated earnings in 2024 were $22 million, based on data available before the SiriusXM deal fully took effect. By 2025 and 2026, with the full deal value flowing and multiple new revenue streams active, independent analysts estimate her annual earnings in the $50 to $60 million range.
Net worth: Estimates range from $60 million to over $100 million depending on the methodology used, with most credible sources landing around $60 million as of 2026.
What You Can Learn
Intellectual property is not a legal detail, it is the business. The Call Her Daddy split came down to one decision: who owns the name? The person who secured that ownership built a $125 million media company. The person who walked away built a podcast and a book deal. Both outcomes are legitimate, but they are not comparable. Every creator who builds a following under a name she doesn’t own should understand what she’s actually building and for whom.
Exclusivity has a price and an expiration date. The Spotify deal was exclusive, which was worth $60 million for three years. But it had a defined term, and when the term ended, Cooper was free to take competing offers. If you sign exclusive deals, understand exactly what you’re giving up, when you can exit, and what you’re building in the meantime.
The network is worth more than the show. A portfolio of audiences creates value that no single show, however popular, can match. Building infrastructure around your audience, rather than just accumulating it, is what turns a content creator into a media company.
Audience data is an asset. One of the reasons Cooper chose Spotify in 2021 was access to listener data that independent podcast distribution could not provide. Data about who your audience actually is gives you negotiating leverage with advertisers and partners that audience size alone cannot.
Turn down the wrong deal. Cooper reportedly turned down a multi-million dollar offer from Amazon before signing with SiriusXM. Choosing the right partner over the highest bidder is a real strategy, not just a feel-good story. The wrong deal can trap you in terms that prevent the next deal from being better.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Alex Cooper worth?
Net worth estimates range from $60 million to over $100 million as of 2026, based on the $125 million SiriusXM deal, estimated sponsorship and merchandise revenue, and her other business ventures. She has not confirmed a figure publicly.
What is the Unwell Network?
The Unwell Network is Alex Cooper’s podcast and media company, which she founded after acquiring ownership of Call Her Daddy. It operates 11 or more podcasts with different hosts, plus a creative agency, television production arm, merchandise business, live events operation, and a beverage line. It employs approximately 100 people.
What happened between Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn?
Cooper and Franklyn co-founded Call Her Daddy together at Barstool Sports in 2018. In 2020, a contract dispute with Barstool Sports led to a public split. Barstool offered both hosts a deal that included eventual IP ownership of the Call Her Daddy name. Cooper accepted; Franklyn did not. Cooper continued as the sole host and eventually gained full ownership of the brand. Franklyn launched her own podcast and later wrote a memoir about the experience.
How did Alex Cooper get a $60 million Spotify deal?
By 2021, Call Her Daddy was one of the top three most downloaded podcasts in the United States with millions of listeners. Spotify was aggressively acquiring exclusive content deals with major podcasters, and Cooper used competitive interest from multiple platforms to negotiate a three-year exclusive deal worth $60 million. It was the largest exclusive podcast deal Spotify had made with a woman at the time.
Why did Alex Cooper leave Spotify for SiriusXM?
Cooper did not leave Spotify so much as she expanded her deal structure. The Spotify deal was exclusive for three years. When it ended in 2024, she signed a $125 million deal with SiriusXM covering exclusive advertising and distribution rights for Call Her Daddy and the entire Unwell Network. The SiriusXM deal is non-exclusive in the sense that Call Her Daddy remains available on all platforms, including Spotify. SiriusXM gets the advertising and content distribution rights.
Who founded Unwell Network?
Alex Cooper founded the Unwell Network after gaining full ownership of Call Her Daddy following her 2020 split with co-host Sofia Franklyn. The network grew from a single podcast into 11 or more shows, a beverage line, a creative agency, and a television production arm.
Who owns Unwell Network?
Alex Cooper privately owns the Unwell Network. The company has not taken outside venture capital and instead built through exclusive distribution deals with Spotify in 2021 and SiriusXM in 2024.
When was Unwell Network founded?
Call Her Daddy launched in October 2018 and became the foundation for what later became the Unwell Network. Cooper built out the network between 2021 and 2024 as she signed creators like Alix Earle and Madeline Argy under the umbrella.
Sources
- The Hollywood Reporter, “Alex Cooper Jumps From Spotify to SiriusXM in $125 Million Deal,” August 2024. SiriusXM deal terms, value, and scope.
- SiriusXM Press Release, “SiriusXM Inks New Multi-Year Agreement with Alex Cooper,” August 2024. Official deal announcement and network details.
- Variety, “Call Her Daddy: Spotify Nabs Exclusive Multiyear Deal With Alex Cooper,” June 2021. Spotify deal terms, $60 million value.
- Rolling Stone, “Ex-‘Call Her Daddy’ Co-Host Sofia Franklyn on Alex Cooper’s ‘Betrayal’,” 2024. Sofia Franklyn’s account of the 2020 split.
- CNN Business, “Alex Cooper’s ‘Call Her Daddy’ Podcast Signs Deal With SiriusXM for $125 Million,” August 2024. Deal confirmation and context.
- SiriusXM Media, “Rise Up Daddy Gang; Call Her Daddy & Unwell Join the Family”. Network details and channel launches.
- Fast Company, “Inside Alex Cooper’s Next Move: Building a Creative Agency,” 2026. Unwell Creative Agency launch, Google partnership.
- Deadline, “Grace O’Malley To Host ‘Disgraceful’ Podcast For The Unwell Network,” February 2025. Network expansion and talent signing.
- The Hollywood Reporter, “Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network Acquires Podcasts ‘Going West,’ ‘Cheers!’,” 2025. Acquisition of new shows.
- Variety, “Alex Cooper on Producing Reality TV, Dating Shows and the Future of ‘Call Her Daddy’,” 2026. TV production deals, Hannah Montana special and Love Overboard.
- Marketing Dive, “NWSL Lands Podcast Star Alex Cooper’s Unwell Hydration as Sponsor,” 2025. Unwell Hydration launch and NWSL partnership.
- Inc., “5 Bold Business Lessons From Alex Cooper’s ‘Call Her Daddy’ Empire”. Business strategy analysis.
- Yahoo Entertainment, “Why Alex Cooper Turned Down Multi-Million Dollar Offer From Amazon”. Deal selectivity and Amazon rejection.
- Wikipedia, “Alex Cooper (podcaster)”. Background, education, career timeline.