Recent celebrations by fans of “Podcast and Chill” were short-lived after a new sponsor cut ties with the show just as quickly as it came on board.
An episode of the show on 22 February 2021 opened with an advert announcing that the episode was “proudly sponsored” by apparel store Studio 88.
This was quickly followed by an announcement by entertainment blogger Phil Mphela claiming the podcast had been receiving a daily average of 600 new subscribers which led to a new record of close to 20 000 new subscribers in the space of 30 days.
BRANDS: Mac G scores new deal & his channel numbers soar
The Mac G Podcast has nabbed Studio 88 as a new partner
His channel is getting 600 average daily subs & got a 30 day boost of 19k new subs
His biggest day was Feb 9th, where he earned over 4000 new subs.#KgopoloReports pic.twitter.com/r9yRxZ3NFL
— Kgopolo Mphela (@PhilMphela) February 23, 2021
In a statement issued to a local publication, Studio88 group marketing manager Loren Lennox said that MacG and his team had approached the brand looking for new sponsors.
According to Lennox, the brand offered them a four-episode sponsorship deal which would now be terminated with immediate effect.
The brand said this was because it stood firmly against the harmful and offensive comments and statements made in the since-deleted episode that got MacG in trouble with the LGBTIQ+ community and their allies.
Shortly after the initial controversy, Old Mutual was the first brand to cut ties with MacG and the podcast.
All eyes have since been on YouTube which in January announced MacG as one of many African creators who would be receiving a grant from the platform in order to grow its channels as part of the YouTube Black Voices programme.
MacG’s YouTube growth
According to external analytics platform Social Blade, MacG’s YouTube channel experienced a 216.7% rise in followers after more than 19 000 new people subscribed to the channel in the last 30 days.
Overall, the channel is estimated to have amassed more than 1.4 million collective views in the same period.
As of 24 January 2021 – two days before the controversial episode was published – his channel had about 110 000 subscribers. Today, that number sits at around 130 000.
With these numbers, Social Blade projects that MacG stands to have earned a maximum $5 900 in ad revenue from YouTube alone, that’s a possible R85 000 (excluding income earned from sponsorships).
-The Citizen
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