How to advertise on Crime in Sports: what it costs, who buys, and how to book

Crime in Sports sells its host-read inventory the way most creator-run shows do: quoted per campaign, not off a public rate card, and booked through the hosts' own operation rather than a big network. Spotsnow attributes the show an Apple Podcasts rating of 4.9 stars across a review base in the range of roughly 22,000 to 26,000 ratings. Nearly all of the ads that run here are host-read direct response, and the top-spending advertiser, the hosts' own merch and tour brand, has run roughly 5 to 6 host-read reads in the tracked window. For a buyer, that mix says one thing clearly: this is a coded-offer, click-through feed, not a branding placement. Spotsnow estimates all of this from tracked advertiser activity, not audience surveys.

You can see the full profile for Crime in Sports on Spotsnow.

Why Crime in Sports is built for host-read direct response

The show is hosted by James Pietragallo, a veteran stand-up comedian who does deep investigative research on every episode, alongside co-host Jimmie Whisman. It sits in food & beverages territory for one of its anchor brands, but the show itself lives in comedy with a heavy true crime streak.

Spotsnow data shows the clear majority of ad reads here are direct response, well above the level where a buyer would treat the show as an awareness play. That matters because direct response lives or dies on attribution: a code, a vanity URL, a slug the host says out loud. Reach is estimated at roughly 500,000 listeners per Spotsnow, and the reason a host-read converts on a feed like this is the format itself. The hosts weave promos into the bit rather than cutting to a produced spot, so attention doesn't fall off a cliff at the break. A host endorsement borrows that sustained attention. A dropped-in ad throws it away.

The influence signal is the 4.9 Apple rating on that large review base, plus a YouTube following in the range of roughly 8,500 to 9,900 subscribers per Spotsnow. The pull here is concentrated in the feed and the Apple following rather than spread thin across every social platform, which is exactly where a host-read does its work.

Who is advertising on Crime in Sports

The roster runs deep, with Spotsnow tracking roughly 120 to 141 brands in the recent window, a mix of national DTC and category giants. Recognizable names include Progressive, Mint Mobile, Shopify, Whole Foods Market, and SoFi.

The anchor advertisers, broken down

Shut Up and Give Me Murder

Shut Up and Give Me Murder is the hosts' own merch and live-tour brand, selling everything from apparel to tour tickets. Spotsnow tracks it at roughly 5 to 6 host-read reads on the show and estimated total spend under $100K, classified as direct response. It fits because it is the audience's own club: fans who already listen are the exact people who buy the merch and the tickets.

IQBAR

IQBAR sells functional protein bars, electrolyte mixes, and instant coffee built around brain and energy focus. Spotsnow tracks roughly 4 reads on the show and estimated total spend under $90K, classified as direct response. A middle-to-upper-income audience that listens for hours is a natural fit for a snack pitched on sustained energy and mental clarity.

CarGurus

CarGurus runs an online marketplace for buying and selling cars. Spotsnow tracks roughly 3 reads on the show and estimated total spend under $70K, classified as direct response. The show skews toward adults in their prime car-buying years, so a used-car marketplace is chasing exactly the right intent.

Progressive, the awareness outlier

Progressive runs here too, but mostly as produced network spots rather than host-reads. It's proof an awareness buyer can fit the feed without borrowing the hosts' voice, even if the show's real strength sits on the direct-response side.

All spend figures are Spotsnow estimates.

Why comedy brands cluster here

The advertiser mix tells you what this audience trusts the hosts to sell. James Pietragallo does real research, and the delivery is comedy first, which buys the kind of goodwill a straight true-crime narrator rarely gets. That's why a functional-nutrition brand, a car marketplace, and the hosts' own merch line can all run coded offers off the same feed and expect a click. The audience skews male but carries a sizable female share, sits in the prime spending years of adults 25 to 44, runs middle to upper-middle income, and is heavily US based with real Canadian and UK pockets. That's a broad, high-intent group that stays for the whole episode because the ad is part of the bit. When the host says a code out loud in his own voice, the listener treats it like a recommendation, not an interruption. That's the whole thesis of a host-read on this show.

How your ad could sound

What works: the handoff is casual and completely in-voice, so it never feels like a hard cut to an ad. There's a single clear destination, shutupandgivememurder.com, and the tour pitch bakes in real urgency ("pretty low on tickets") that ends on "get all your tickets right now they're all available." That mirrors what a strong host-read does: personal framing, one place to go, a reason to act now.

What's worth improving: the read stacks merch and multiple tour cities into one breath, so the single most important call to action gets diluted. And a self-promo like this carries no code or trackable URL slug, which makes attribution soft. A brand buying here should insist on one primary offer and a clean, spoken code so the conversion is countable.

View what a great sample ad looks like here.

What makes a show like this convert

1. The format holds attention through the break. Ads are woven into the comedy bit instead of dropped in, so listeners don't skip the moment the host starts a read.
2. Host credibility carries the offer. A 4.9 Apple rating on a review base of roughly 22,000 to 26,000 tells you the audience trusts these hosts enough to act on a recommendation.
3. The audience is broad and high-intent. Estimated reach of roughly 500,000 listeners, skewing 25 to 44 and middle to upper income, gives a coded offer real buying power behind it.
4. Repeat buying proves the math. The top advertiser has run roughly 5 to 6 reads and IQBAR roughly 4; brands don't come back at that frequency unless the reads pay out.

Crime in Sports in a nutshell

Crime in Sports reaches an estimated 500,000-plus listeners who skew male with a strong female share, cluster in the 25 to 44 band, and run middle to upper income across the US, Canada, and the UK. The brands already buying, from IQBAR and CarGurus to the hosts' own Shut Up and Give Me Murder line, run mostly host-read direct response. The show is sold direct, quoted per campaign rather than off a rate card. If you're a DTC or performance buyer chasing a coded offer, this feed is built for you; pure awareness money fits, but it isn't where the show is strongest.