Bobby Bones Built a Radio Empire. Netflix Is His New Frontier

Bobby Bones presides over an audio empire thanks to his eponymous radio show, a partnership with the NFL and dalliances in TV work. But when Netflix came calling with a new idea, it was a quick yes. For starters, “Well, they offered us a lot of money,” Bones tells The Hollywood Reporter .

Bones is part of Netflix’s grand experiment in video podcasting, the streaming platform began hosting the format earlier this year — launching with shows like The Bill Simmons Podcast and Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take — in an effort to bring in more daytime viewers and compete with archrival YouTube. While the results of putting podcasts on Netflix remain to be seen, the experiment is paying off for creators like Bones, who signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the streamer, on top of a $100 million overall talent deal with iHeartMedia.

The trade-off, per the deals Netflix struck with companies like iHeartMedia and Spotify, is that full video episodes no longer can appear on YouTube. But Netflix is making it worth their while. Once Bones signed the Netflix deal, he began completely renovating one of the buildings he owns in Nashville in order to build out a multicam studio for his podcast, The BobbyCast .

“The visual part of it’s always been important to me. But we leveled up whenever this deal happened. We leveled up because they gave us the resources to do it, and also if a lot of people are going to watch, I definitely want it to look as best as it possibly can,” he said.

Since episodes started streaming in January (he’s delivered more than 80), Bones says the streamer has not laid out any rules for his show but has offered to help book guests. They largely appear in person at the studio, with many already part of the Nashville music scene or coming through the area on tour. But recently, Bones said, he’s also been receiving requests from guests willing to travel specifically to the city for the show, as was the case for Mumford and Sons .

The building used for The BobbyCast is unmarked and secured, which helps maintain the safety and anonymity of the guests, who have included Sheryl Crow, Blake Shelton and Kenan Thompson. (Bones also shoots his content for the NFL in a different studio in the building).

“I think 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,” Bones says. “The bad thing is, a lot of people watch, and if something like that blows up, man, it blows up hard.”

That was a lesson learned in July when John Stamos appeared on Bones’ podcast and joked that, unlike his host, he would never do Dancing With the Stars despite repeated offers. The stray remark backfired for Stamos, who received online attacks for being dismissive of the show.

Bones is no stranger to security concerns and controversy. He lists several incidents that have occurred throughout his career, including being jumped outside of work, held at gunpoint, pistol-whipped and also having his house broken into, all of which has required his own level of security. “It’s not even really because of anything that I say that’s controversial.