How did UFC commentator and podcast host Joe Rogan get famous?
Joe Rogan is a jack of all trades. Throughout his career, Rogan has donned the hats of a stand-up comedian, a podcast host, and a UFC color commentator. Rogan has also worked as a television host and an actor in the past.
Rogan's television career kicked off in 1994 when he signed an exclusive deal with Disney, appearing as an actor on television shows like Hardball and NewsRadio. However, it was in 1997 that Joe Rogan would sign with the UFC as an interviewer and color commentator. That's when he captured the attention and admiration of millions of fans across the globe.
In 2000, Joe Rogan performed his first comedy skit and from 2001 to 2006, he was the host of the popular American television series, Fear Factor. All this while, Joe Rogan would still commentate on fights and interview fighters during UFC events.
It was in 2009 that Rogan gave birth to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast which went on to gain massive popularity across the globe. Along with it came fame and truckloads of money. On May 19, 2020, after over a decade of successfully hosting the JRE podcast, Rogan announced the signing of a multi-year licensing deal with Spotify, worth an estimated $100 million.
At the time, Joe Rogan claimed that the podcast had reached 190 million downloads per month. The deal made The Joe Rogan Experience available exclusively on Spotify from January 2021. However, Joe Rogan was allowed to retain full ownership and editorial authority of the podcast. He reportedly earns around $75,000 per episode.
“The podcast is moving to Spotify. I signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Spotify," said Joe Rogan."
The Spotify censorship controversy surrounding Joe Rogan's podcast
In a recent podcast episode with comedian Fahim Anwar, Joe Rogan admitted that some of his podcast episodes have undergone censorship following his deal with Spotify. He said that there were a few episodes from his podcast that Spotify didn't want on its platform.
"There were a few episodes they didn’t want on their platform, and I was like 'okay, I don’t care.' But other than that, in terms of what I do in the future, the big test was having Alex Jones on. A lot of people are like, they’re telling Joe Rogan what he can and can’t do. They’re not, they’re not,” he said.