Michelle Obama’s IMO podcast is losing viewers and listeners on Spotify and YouTube.
The podcast, co-hosted by Obama’s brother Craig Robinson, debuted in March but has struggled to maintain consistent viewership, falling on several streaming platforms since then.
‘IMO’ has dropped to number 36 on Spotify’s top podcasts chart. The podcast had been ranked No. 34 the previous day. On Apple, the podcast has dropped out of the top 25.
Similarly, ‘IMO’ is steadily losing viewers on YouTube. The show’s first episode received 338,000 views, but the most recent full-length episode posted to Obama’s channel received only 66,000 views.
Obama’s podcast has had guests including Issa Rae, Seth and Lauren Rogen, Keke Palmer, and Jay Shetty.
‘IMO’ has been the subject of controversy since its release because the show’s name is similar to the acronym used by a United Kingdom podcast called ‘In My Opinion’, which debuted in 2021.
The podcast’s hosts recently claimed that the similarities in names had an impact on their show.
“It has definitely affected our engagement. We’ve definitely noticed an increase in the number of people who find us through search. Mulinde, the host, told Metro UK that they are still trying to quantify the impact.
“It’s just one of those David and Goliath situations, where we are the smaller creators. I’m pretty sure if we were on Mr. Beast’s level and her team had done their research, I’d say, “Do you know what? Mulinde added, “No, someone else has it, so it’s fine.”
However, the host stated that he believes Obama was unaware of the similarity and that her choice of a similar name was not malicious.
“I don’t think she’s done this maliciously, I don’t even think she even knows about this,” Mulinde told me.
Obama has not commented on the controversy surrounding the similar names.
