Deals With iHM, Spotify And Netflix Keep Bobby Bones Busy

A Netflix deal arrangement sits on top of Bobb Bones’ $100 million overall talent deal with iHeartMedia. In exchange for Netflix money and global distribution, full video episodes can no longer run on YouTube, the trade-off Netflix struck with partners including iHeart and Spotify.

Bones said yes to the deal...quickly.  “Well, they offered us a lot of money,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. 

After signing, he renovated an unmarked Nashville building he owns into a multicam studio so the show would look as good as the new audience. Episodes began streaming in January; he has delivered more than 80. "The BobbyCast started as an opportunity to have real, candid conversations with people I was curious to learn more about," said Bones. "Ten years later, I'm still curious, and I'm incredibly grateful that people continue to want to confide in me."

Netflix has not imposed creative rules, he said, but has offered booking help. Guests usually appear in person. Many are already in the Nashville music scene or passing through on tour; others, including Mumford & Sons, have traveled specifically for the show. Past guests include Sheryl Crow, Blake Shelton and Kenan Thompson. 

Bones also films NFL content in a separate studio in the same building.  “The visual part of it’s always been important to me. But we leveled up whenever this deal happened,” he said. “The good part about being with Netflix is, a lot of people are watching it, because they’ve put us all over the world now. The bad thing is, a lot of people watch, and if something like that blows up, man, it blows up hard.”

That happened in July when John Stamos joked on the show that he would never do Dancing With the Stars. The remark drew online attacks. Bones said fame has already brought security risks, such as being jumped, held at gunpoint, pistol-whipped and having his house broken into and that the problem is less about controversy than scale and parasocial closeness.

“There’s no crying on the yacht, so everything’s going pretty good,” he said.Bones has compared notes for years with friend Charlamagne tha God, who also has an iHeart show and a Netflix deal. “The transparency has been a real asset,” Bones said. Charlamagne called him “one of the greatest radio personalities to ever exist and a true disruptor in the best way.”