How to advertise on History Hyenas: what it costs, who buys, and how to book

History Hyenas sells its host-read inventory the way most YMH Studios shows do: quoted per campaign through the network, not off a public rate card. Spotsnow data shows nearly all of the show's tracked ads are direct-response, the kind that live or die on a code and a URL. The top spender, Trollco Clothing, has run roughly 8 to 9 ads on the feed. For a buyer, that mix reads as a show where performance advertisers keep coming back, not one they test once and drop. Spotsnow estimates all of this from tracked advertiser activity, not audience surveys.

This piece is about History Hyenas with Chris Distefano and Yannis Pappas, who buys ads on it, and how those ads get sold.

Why History Hyenas is built for host-read direct response

Yannis Pappas co-hosts with Chris Distefano, and he brings a real credential to the history bit: a degree in American Studies and History from American University, plus years as a working stand-up. The show sits in history, with comedy and society running underneath it.

Spotsnow data shows the direct-response share sits in the high-90s, which is about as coded as a comedy feed gets. That matters because host-reads here carry an offer, a promo code, and a landing URL you can track back to sale. Reach is estimated at roughly 150,000 listeners per Spotsnow, and audience size is an estimate, not an audited count. The format works because the hosts don't hand the ad off to a produced spot. They riff into it. The Chubbies and Pestie reads run for minutes, folded into the bit, so the attention the show holds through a tangent is the same attention a host-read borrows. That's the argument for this feed, not a number on a rate card.

The engagement shows up off-platform too. Spotsnow attributes the show roughly 388,000 Instagram followers and roughly 196,000 YouTube subscribers. Both hosts tour, and the clips travel, so the audience follows them across feeds rather than sitting in one app.

Who is advertising on History Hyenas

Spotsnow tracks roughly 64 to 75 brands on the feed in the recent window, and the roster leans DTC and performance. Recognizable names include Shopify, HIMS, BlueChew, Quince, and SimpliSafe, with sleep and home tech, men's telehealth, and apparel filling out the rest.

The anchor advertisers, broken down

Trollco Clothing

Trollco Clothing is Chris Distefano's own apparel line, and it's the top spender. Spotsnow data shows roughly 8 to 9 ads, an estimated total spend of over $30K, all host-read direct-response. When a host advertises his own brand this heavily, it tells you how bought-in the reads are. The audience already wears the merch.

Chili Pad

Chili Pad sells temperature-regulating mattress pads for people who sleep hot. Spotsnow data shows roughly 5 to 6 ads and an estimated total spend over $20K, host-read direct-response. Sleep tech maps cleanly onto a mostly male, middle-to-upper income audience with the disposable income for a premium bedroom upgrade.

Quince

Quince is a direct-to-consumer brand selling affordable-luxury apparel, home goods, and accessories at factory-direct prices. Spotsnow data shows roughly 5 to 6 ads and an estimated total spend over $20K, host-read direct-response. Value-conscious buyers who still want quality basics fit a young-to-mid-career listener trying to look put-together without overpaying.

The awareness outlier

Not everyone here buys on a code. Spotsnow shows national brands like Toyota, Whole Foods Market, and Carvana running produced spots on the same feed. That's a pure awareness objective riding a DR audience, and it proves a brand play can work here even though the roster's center of gravity is performance.

All spend figures are Spotsnow estimates.

Why history brands cluster here

The pattern isn't really about history as a category. It's about who shows up to hear two comedians dismantle a topic for an hour: mostly men, skewing young to mid-career, middle-to-upper income, and overwhelmingly US-based, per Spotsnow. That's the buyer profile for men's telehealth, sleep upgrades, workwear, and DTC essentials, which is exactly what the roster reads like. The hosts aren't neutral readers either. Distefano advertises his own clothing brand harder than anyone, so an endorsement here sounds like a friend's recommendation, not an insert. When the audience trusts the person reading the code, the code gets used. That trust is what a performance brand is actually buying on this feed.

How your ad could sound

Pestie host-read on History Hyenas

The Pestie read is a good model for this feed. It opens with a personal story about an ant problem at the house, so the offer arrives inside a bit rather than on top of it. The benefit stack lands clean: pro-grade pesticide, kid and pet friendly, and a "100% bug free guarantee or your money back." The close repeats the code so it's hard to miss, ending on "go to pesti.com/hyenas for an extra 10% off."

Two things to tighten if you brief a read like this. The CTA arrives late, well after the comedy has run its course, so a first-time listener could tune out before the code. And the offer detail gets buried under the banter, which is charming but can swallow the number that drives the sale. Give the hosts room to be funny, then make sure the code and the discount land twice, plainly, near the end. View what a great sample ad looks like here.

What makes a show like this convert

1. The format carries the offer. Host-reads here run long and personal, so a code sits inside content the audience already chose to hear rather than an ad break they skip.
2. The hosts have earned trust. Distefano runs his own clothing brand on the feed and both hosts sell out live rooms, so a recommendation reads as endorsement, not insertion.
3. The audience is a buyer, not just a listener. Spotsnow describes it as mostly male, young to mid-career, middle-to-upper income, and US-based, which is the profile behind the DTC and telehealth roster.
4. Advertisers repeat. Trollco's roughly 8 to 9 ads, alongside repeat flights from Chili Pad and Quince, are the clearest signal the math works, because brands don't re-book reads that don't pay back.

History Hyenas in a nutshell

The audience is mostly men, young to mid-career, middle-to-upper income, and overwhelmingly US-based, per Spotsnow, drawn to comedy wrapped around history and current events. The brands already buying, from Trollco to Chili Pad to Quince, run host-read reads with codes and URLs, not produced brand spots. The show is sold on a quoted basis through YMH Studios, a large network. If your objective is coded, trackable direct response, this feed is built for it, with room for the occasional national awareness play on the side.