Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo just turned a pandemic pastime into one of the biggest paydays in podcasting. The Giggly Squad SiriusXM deal is a four-year agreement reportedly worth $140 million, or about $35 million a year, signed after a bidding war that pulled in Amazon and the duo's old network, Acast.

The $140 million figure comes from a report by Natalie Jarvey at Like & Subscribe News, who cited sources familiar with the deal process and put the annual value at $35 million. The Hollywood Reporter first broke news of the Giggly Squad SiriusXM deal itself, which took effect this week. For a show that started as two friends giggling on Instagram Live, it is the kind of money usually reserved for athletes and movie stars.

Three companies wanted the show

According to Jarvey's reporting, SiriusXM was not the only company chasing the podcast. Amazon and Acast, the network Giggly Squad called home for six years, were both in the mix, making the Giggly Squad SiriusXM deal the product of a genuine three-way contest. Multiple offers reportedly reached around $150 million, and the biggest check on the table was not necessarily the one the duo took.

What SiriusXM walked away with is substantial. Under the Giggly Squad SiriusXM deal, the company secured exclusive global sales for the audio and video editions of the show, plus distribution rights that put it across the SiriusXM podcast network, YouTube, and everywhere else podcasts live. The agreement also includes new exclusive Giggly Squad programming, with details expected in 2027.

Thanks to the structure of the Giggly Squad SiriusXM deal, listeners do not need to move. New episodes will keep arriving on Tuesdays and Fridays across the major podcast platforms, and SiriusXM handles the distribution and advertising behind the scenes. Reality Tea noted the arrangement keeps the show widely available while giving the duo a much bigger machine behind it.

From Instagram Live to nine figures

Berner and DeSorbo met as cast members on Bravo's Summer House, appearing on two early seasons before building something of their own. In 2020, stuck at home like everyone else, they started doing Instagram Lives together. The chats were loose and self-deprecating, mostly about dating disasters and lockdown anxiety, and a lot of people watched.

The show's name came from an insult. During a season 4 group dinner, castmate Kyle Cooke got annoyed at the two of them giggling through a side conversation, and the phrase stuck. Berner and DeSorbo adopted it as the title when those Lives became a formal podcast.

Six years with Acast turned the joke into an empire. Giggly Squad became a top-10 comedy podcast, launched a 70-city live tour that included two dates at Radio City Music Hall, and produced a bestselling book, "How to Giggle." The duo also has a scripted comedy project in the works at Netflix. In March, the show won Podcast of the Year at the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards. That track record is what made the Giggly Squad SiriusXM deal possible. Few podcasts arrive at the negotiating table with a sold-out arena tour and a bestselling book already behind them.

"We're so excited for this next chapter with SiriusXM. Giggly Squad has grown beyond anything we could have imagined and getting to experience that growth with the Gigglers has made it even more special," the two said in a joint statement. "We can't wait for what's next and to keep giggling together."

SiriusXM is betting on personalities, not platforms

Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM's president and chief content officer, framed the signing as a bet on the hosts themselves. "Giggly Squad has already become a real force in podcasting, driven by Hannah and Paige's undeniable chemistry, indelible humor, and the incredible community they've cultivated around the show," he said. "We're excited to welcome them to SiriusXM and put our expertise behind what they've built."

The reported $140 million puts the Giggly Squad SiriusXM deal ahead of the most famous podcast contracts of recent years. Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy deal was reported at around $125 million, and the SmartLess hosts' agreement came in near $100 million. Two former reality TV cast members with iPhones just beat both.

It also says something about where the podcast business is heading. The Giggly Squad SiriusXM deal is a sign of where the money is going: toward video as much as audio, and toward hosts with loyal audiences. The same week the deal was announced, Spotify expanded its podcast partner program to 35 markets, and NPR poached the Hard Fork hosts for a new video-first show. Podcast companies are clearly courting anyone with a microphone and a loyal audience right now.

For the Gigglers, the fan name Berner and DeSorbo gave their audience, nothing about the listening experience changes. The episodes stay twice weekly. The giggling stays constant. The only difference is the number of zeroes behind it, and a new slate of exclusive programming arriving in 2027 that SiriusXM has not described yet. If the last six years are any indication, whatever it is will probably start as a joke between two friends and end up everywhere.