How Gary Lineker’s podcast empire’s taking over the world as Goalhanger tops the charts with four most popular UK shows
GARY Lineker may be giving up Match of the Day – but he is more than sorted with his podcast empire.
Earlier this month, the England legend, 63, announced he was quitting the show after 25 years as host.
A new four-year deal with the BBC to show Premier League highlights begins from next season.
“I feel this is now the right time,” Lineker revealed.
“I think [with] the next [highlights] contract, they’re looking to do Match of the Day slightly differently, so I think it makes sense for someone else to take the helm.”
He later said on his The Rest Is Football podcast: “I always thought my next thing would be the end. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I’ve done Match of Day for 25 years. It’s been an absolute joy and a privilege to present such an iconic show for the BBC.
“But all things have to come to an end.”
Lineker is far from done, though.
Despite walking away from a £1.35million-per-year pay day with the Beeb, he will still rake it in – thanks to his company, Goalhanger Podcasts.
They produce 13 podcasts in total, encompassing the worlds of politics, history, entertainment, and football.
Astonishingly, they collectively achieve more than 40million downloads a month.
Better still, a look at the British podcast charts – via Podwatch, who get their data from iTunes and Spotify – reveals that Goalhanger Podcasts occupy the top four spots in the UK.
Their latest hit, spy story The Rest Is Classified, has jumped straight to the top of the charts.
While, the Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Entertainment, in that order, make up the top four.
Incredibly, The Rest Is Football props up the No8 spot – making Goalhanger Podcasts the biggest independent podcast group and the largest outside the United States.
Thinking ahead
In 2014, Lineker and business partner Tony Pastor set up Goalhanger Films Ltd.
Originally, they set it up to produce documentaries, and they did it well.
Football, Prince William and Our Mental Health was taken by the BBC, while Keane & Vieira – Best of Enemies appeared on ITV.
However, earlier this month Pastor revealed that they focusing their attentions on podcasts.
Therefore, Goalhanger Films Ltd was closing.
“We effectively mothballed Films and set up a bespoke company concentrating on podcasts,” he told Deadline.
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“There was a period in which I ran them in tandem, but the growth of podcasts was so explosive and television is challenged, so we’ve now done some housekeeping.”
He added: “We’ve gone from a production company being entirely beholden to commissioners and the budgets of broadcasters to having a degree of self-control, whereby we are self-commissioning.”
Stellar cast list
Goalhanger’s podcasts, which began to take shape in 2018 with former radio exec Jack Davenport joining the party, bring together stellar hosts.
Although sports readers will be familiar with Lineker, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer on The Rest Is Football, it’s The Rest Is History that draws Hollywood movie stars in as guests.
Hosted by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, both popular historians and bestselling authors, the subjects of their podcasts are varied.
One six-part series was produced to debunk Hollywood’s story-telling of the sinking of The Titanic.
While another saw Oscar-winner Tom Hanks offer his views on NASA’s lunar missions.
The Rest Is Politics features ex-New Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and former Conservative minister Rory Stewart.
Last year, The Rest Is Entertainment was launched, featuring Pointless star Richard Osman and journalist Marina Hyde, where they discuss contemporary entertainment stories, in the world of film, television, stage, books and more.
It’s a formula that works, and can keep Lineker earning well after he’s left the MOTD hotseat.
Nice pay day
Due to the astronomical figures of downloads that Goalhanger podcasts receive, they will certainly generate a lot of cash.
While the podcasts also appear on YouTube, where the content has been viewed more than 80million times so far.
According to reports, Goalhanger are paid £45 by advertisers for every 1,000 listens to an advert.
It is believed that during the Euros this summer, Lineker made an additional £125,000, alongside his BBC duties at the tournament.
Incredibly, one episode of The Rest Is Football was viewed over 530,000 times on YouTube.
The Rest Is History, their regular best seller, generates 11 million downloads per month, alongside 1.2 million YouTube views, and 45,000 subscribers – paying up to £25-per-month.
It has been estimated that show makes as much as £500,000-per-month for spoken ads from its presenters.
Who could replace Gary Lineker as MOTD host?
GARY LINEKER dropped the shock news that he is QUITTING Match of the Day.
The popular presenter, 63, took over hosting duties on the flagship BBC programme from Des Lynam in 1999.
But after more than 25 years in the studio hotseat, he has called time on his MOTD gig.
But as part of a huge shake-up, the BBC is considering rotating the presenters on a weekly basis.
So with Lineker vacating the chair, new names will step into his giant boots. But who could they be?
MARK CHAPMAN
Chapman, 51, is the obvious early favourite to follow on from Lineker as MOTD presenter.
He already has the gig as MOTD2 host on a Sunday night plus landed the presenting job for the new BBC Champions League highlights show.
ALEX SCOTT
Scott gets the nod from the Beeb bosses when Lineker is away.
The former right-back, 40, is used to presenting the Saturday night show as well as live match coverage – plus ticks the box as a former England international.
GABBY LOGAN
Like Scott, Logan, 51, is one of the understudies to step in when Lineker is not available.
She has done most gigs since joining the BBC in 2007, including Olympics, Sports Personality of the Year and Final Score.
MICAH RICHARDS
Lineker’s top pick to replace him is exuberant former Man City defender Richards.
The departing host told his close pal, 36, on their Stick to Football podcast: “I’d love to see you take over Micah, I think you’d be brilliant in the chair.”
JASON MOHAMMAD
Mohammad could earn the “promotion” from Final Score to Match of the Day.
The 51-year-old Welshman – who took over from Logan in 2013 – is one of the BBC’s top earners already and is more senior than fellow Final Score and BBC Sport broadcaster Kelly Somers, who could in theory become the main live host for the afternoon slot.
JEFF STELLING
He couldn’t, could he? While Lineker has been the face of Saturday night TV for football fans for years, the face of the afternoons was Stelling in his role as Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday presenter.
He would bring plenty of on-screen charisma, wit and legendary TV expertise – but at nearly 70 and currently with talkSPORT, the Hartlepool fan would not be a cheap or long-term appointment.
This year, The Rest Is Politics podcast has become the most popular on our shores, drawing 700,000 downloads per episode during election years in both the UK and US.
While Lineker is not a director of Goalhanger Podcasts, he is its largest shareholder – owning 50 of its 150 shares.
Forget TV, the ex-Three Lions ace has found a new lease of life – and it should be lucrative for years to come.