Conservative media company The Daily Wire signed a multiyear deal with Canadian clinical psychologist, author and University of Toronto professor emeritus Jordan B. Peterson, the company announced Wednesday.
The company’s new premium subscription service — “DailyWire+” — will manage the sales and distribution of “The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast” under the agreement, according to a news release from The Daily Wire.
DailyWire+ subscribers will have access to exclusive bonus content at the end of every podcast episode, along with subscriber-only specials where Peterson will bring in special guests to his show.
“The launch of DailyWire+ marks the beginning of an aggressive technological and content expansion for us,” The Daily Wire co-Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Boreing said, according to the news release.
“The addition of Dr. Jordan Peterson, the pre-eminent public intellectual of our time, should indicate exactly how serious we are about bringing quality counter-cultural voices to the fore,” Boreing added.
The subscription service now hosts Peterson’s existing podcast and video library, which, according to the Daily Wire, has bagged over half-billion views and downloads since 2016.
Peterson’s podcast will still be available on traditional podcast platforms, such as Apple and Spotify. However, all money from advertisements would accrue to DailyWire+. New episodes in the podcast will be released twice per week, according to The Daily Wire.
In addition to the podcast, the subscription service will produce premium content by the bestselling author. The first installment in the premium library is the now-available four-part series “Dragons, Monsters and Men,” where Peterson discusses masculinity, men and purpose.
“Obviously, there’s a huge shift in media technology from whatever was the legacy media in print, video, entertainment and in the digital world, and clearly DailyWire+ is at the forefront of that,” Peterson said when asked about why he joined the platform, the news release stated.
Would you buy a DailyWire+ subscription?
“Partnering with a company that shares my own values for excellence and entrepreneurial vision is the natural next step for me,” Peterson said, adding that “it’s time for a new adventure.”
In the last three months, The Daily Wire has raised its number of paying subscribers to 890,000, inching closer to its one million subscriber goal, Forbes reported. In April, the subscriber count stood next to 600,000, according to the outlet.
With the new changes and the launch of DailyWire+, Forbes reported that the company could reach the one million subscriber goal faster than expected.
The DailyWire+ is the company’s new video-on-demand and podcast streaming venture. Speaking to Forbes, Boreing suggested that the company created DailyWire+ to be the home of its entertainment and video content separate from its news outlet but within the Daily Wire umbrella.
“A news website making westerns is already a brand stretch, and no one wants The New York Times to present children’s entertainment,” Boreing told Forbes.
“So, it’s time for something new. A new brand to house all of this new content. A new brand that is still The Daily Wire, but it’s also movies and documentaries and cartoons. It’s still The Daily Wire, but it’s not just political news and commentary shows — it’s sports and entertainment and philosophy. It’s still The Daily Wire, plus a whole lot more,” Boering said.
DailyWire+ currently includes The Daily Wire, The World of Jordan Peterson and DailyWire movies, such as the “Terror on the Prairie” and “Shut In.” Starting in 2023, the service will also provide an offering for kids, the news release stated.
“Over the next nine months,” Boreing told Forbes senior contributor Andy Meek on Wednesday, “Our entire infrastructure will be updated to create a state-of-the-art SVOD platform for our rapidly expanding content library.”
“Our security will be enhanced, our subscription funnel will be enhanced, our streaming function will be enhanced and, most importantly, our user experience will be enhanced,” Boering said.
In addition to signing Peterson on to a multiyear deal, The Daily Wire has also expanded its current agreement with PragerU, the company’s news release stated.
A new series from PragerU titled “PragerU Master’s Program with Dennis Prager” will be launching this fall and will be exclusively available to DailyWire+ subscribers.
