Some dissent in Bill Simmons’ The Ringer publishing and podcast network is airing out publicly.
\n\nSean Fennessey, the former head of content for The Ringer and host of the platform’s popular “The Big Picture” podcast, appeared on the podcast “Talk Easy With Sam Fragoso” on Aug. 30 and touched on several topics — including that Ringer shows like “Big Picture” have been licensed by Spotify to Netflix, despite the fact that the podcast’s participants discuss films that might appear on the streamer.
\n\n“I think there’s an inherent conflict with the work that we’re doing,” he said. “I don’t think it totally makes sense for a show that’s covering films released by Netflix to be licensed nonexclusively to Netflix — but it wasn’t my decision, so we’re working within that reality.”
\n\nFennessey has been with Simmons’ company since it launched in 2016. The Netflix licensing deal was announced in October 2025. The Ringer is owned by Spotify, which acquired the media business in 2020 in a $250 million deal with Simmons.
\n\nElsewhere in the podcast, Fennessey, who was speaking alongside his “Big Picture” co-host Amanda Dobbins, was asked about Simmons’ podcast having ChatGPT as a sponsor, as well as his boss…
Original source: https://variety.com/