Live Podcasts Are Touring and Selling Tickets

Live podcasts are selling out Madison Square Garden and generating seven- and eight-figure tour grosses, prompting major agencies—especially United Talent Agency—to treat podcasters as touring talent with a built-in, high-intent audience. 

Kill Tony, Tony Hinchcliffe’s weekly comedy roast show, has become the clearest proof of the model. Pollstar-reported box office shows the series has taken in more than $11 million from live events over about two years. Two nights at Madison Square Garden in 2024 sold 25,193 tickets and grossed $2.39 million; later MSG dates and other arenas, including the Kia Forum and H-E-B Center, followed the same pattern of fast sellouts with little traditional advertising. 

The show is booked to return to MSG and to play Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas in November 2026. Agencies want that pipeline. 

Tony Hinchcliffe

UTA already books live podcasts through its Comedy Touring and Audio groups, which sit inside the larger UTA Creators division. The agency’s comedy touring roster explicitly includes live podcasts alongside stand-ups, and its audio team markets expansion into film, television, and live events as core work. Other UTA clients in the touring-podcast lane have included Alex Cooper and Mel Robbins. 

The pitch is simple: a podcast audience already listens every week, trusts the host, and will buy a ticket, merch, and a brand partnership without a studio marketing campaign. Live shows change the economics. Venues and bookers now chase podcast dates because production is cheaper than a full concert—no band load-in, dancers, or pyro—while ticket prices can still land in the same range as mid-tier comedy and music. 

Secondary-market averages for Kill Tony theater dates have run well above $100 in strong cities. Tours also deepen the relationship the digital show started: fans meet the host in person, regulars become touring acts, and the live recording itself becomes content that feeds YouTube, Netflix specials, and the next on-sale. 

According to Forbes, Brand deals and merch sit on top of ticket revenue. That is why agencies are no longer treating podcasts as a side hustle for comics and influencers. UTA’s role is the same work it does for arena comedians: pick the room, set the length, price the house, and keep the night feeling like the show fans already love rather than a watered-down taping. Venue choice and runtime matter because a three-hour Kill Tony with bucket pulls, a band, and surprise guests is a different product from a 70-minute interview podcast in a 400-seat theater.

The larger shift is that audio-first creators now have a live business that looks like comedy and music touring. Listeners who used to only press play are filling arenas. Agencies that once waited for a Netflix special or a late-night booking are signing the podcast first—and routing the tour before the next platform deal.