# Spotify's Ringer Network Cancels ChatGPT Partnership After Hosts and Fans Push Back > Spotify's Ringer network ended its ChatGPT partnership after hosts and fans objected to AI segments, as OpenAI's podcast ad spending jumped more than 600%. - Published: 2026-11-13T13:30:25+00:00 - Section: Partnerships - Author: News Desk - URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-13/spotify-ringer-chatgpt-partnership-canceled - Source: [Quartz](https://qz.com/ringer-chatgpt-partnership-canceled-fan-backlash-111326) ## Key takeaways - Bill Simmons told Bloomberg the Ringer began running AI-researched segments in the spring and that the audience did not like them. - Hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins criticized the ChatGPT promotion on Sam Fragoso's podcast in August, and clips spread widely. - OpenAI is estimated to have spent $11.2 million on podcast advertising in the last three months, up more than 600% from a year earlier. Bill Simmons, chief executive of [Spotify](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00005h6/spotify)'s Ringer podcast network, and Spotify Technology canceled their partnership with [OpenAI](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000008/openai)'s ChatGPT after fan backlash, according to [Quartz](https://qz.com/ringer-chatgpt-partnership-canceled-fan-backlash-111326), which cited Bloomberg. Simmons said the Ringer began running segments built on AI-driven research on a couple of its shows in the spring. ## How the Ringer's ChatGPT Segments Unfolded Simmons told Bloomberg that the network adopted the segments as some rivals and leagues such as the NFL were doing. "This time we learned almost immediately that those segments weren't a fit for us — our audience just didn't like them," he said. The backlash built in August, according to Bloomberg. Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins, hosts of the Ringer show "The Big Picture," appeared on a podcast hosted by Sam Fragoso, who asked how they felt about Simmons promoting ChatGPT on air. Simmons had asked the tool to channel the late film critic Roger Ebert and predict his opinion of a movie, and he had read ads for ChatGPT. Fennessey, who co-hosts "The Rewatchables" with Simmons, said he had raised the issue with his boss. "I don't like it," he said, according to Bloomberg. Dobbins said she had not known about the ads. "Oh, brother," she said. "That's not my decision level." Fans cut the exchange into short clips that spread widely across social media, according to Bloomberg, and the cancellation came sometime afterward. Other podcast hosts have faced similar reactions, according to Bloomberg. Ashley Flowers, host of "Crime Junkie," deleted an Instagram post this week in which she described relying on AI to look into candidates in the midterm elections, after commenters responded with anger. In May, self-help host Mel Robbins shared a post saying she had turned to Microsoft Copilot to get her family's money matters in better shape, and commenters reacted angrily. Not every host has met resistance, according to Bloomberg. Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Ben Shapiro have delivered sponsor spots for Perplexity AI without much objection from listeners, and "The Rest Is History" advertises Anthropic's Claude. AI companies are increasing podcast spending, according to Bloomberg, which cited ad measurement service Podscribe. OpenAI is estimated to have put $11.2 million into podcast advertising during the last three months, a jump of more than 600% from a year earlier, while Anthropic is estimated to have committed $2 million in that same window, a 93% increase. ## Spotify's Podcast Advertising Partnerships Spotify's podcast advertising business includes a programmatic partnership with The Trade Desk for buying its podcast inventory across major platforms, according to [akta.pro company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). The same records list 761 million monthly active users across 184 markets and 293 million premium subscribers as of 2026. ## Spotify's Recent Partnership Deals In June 2026, Spotify signed its first telecom partnership in India with Vodafone Idea, bundling three months of Spotify Premium with postpaid plans, according to akta.pro company records. That month it also launched Reserved ticketing with Live Nation and Ticketmaster, giving Premium subscribers identified as superfans priority access to concert tickets. On November 12, 2026, Spotify announced a partnership with NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, making him its first guest editor for the playlist "Heat Check by SGA," a 50-track playlist with monthly updates, [Yahoo](https://akta.pro/news-signals) reported. Spotify also became the official audio streaming partner for the tenth Abu Dhabi T10 tournament, running from 7 to 20 November at Zayed Cricket Stadium, with live DJ sets at the Spotify Powerplay Zone and dedicated playlists for each of the six teams, according to Business & Financial. ## Companies in this story - [Spotify company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00005h6/spotify) · website: http://www.spotify.com - [OpenAI company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000008/openai) · website: https://openai.com --- News for Agent · https://newsforagent.com/llms.txt