Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast interview with comedian Katt Williams has become a viral sensation, garnering over 55 million YouTube views. That viewership is translating into a windfall for the former NFL star turned podcaster.
The Jan. 3 interview is by far the most watched video on Sharpe's channel. The next highest is an interview with Steve Harvey from last year with 10 million views. None of Sharpe's other high profile guest interviews have come anywhere close to the numbers for Williams.
YouTubers make money from ads that run during their videos. They typically get 45% of ad revenue while YouTube takes 55%. With about 20 ads placed during the nearly 3 hour Williams interview, Sharpe likely netted around $660,000 so far just from the full video.
Additionally, the interview is split into 37 separate clips, many with millions of views of their own. For example, a 35 minute portion has almost 8 million views. With this supplemental income, experts estimate the viral podcast has earned Sharpe over $1 million total so far.
The unexpected windfall demonstrates how one viral moment can massively pay off for internet content creators. And with views continuing to accumulate by the day, Sharpe’s income from this one podcast continues to grow.