Amazon may have been a little late to the podcast game compared to its competitors but it sure is trying to make a splash. They announced that they acquired one of the biggest podcast networks right now, Wondery, and they are adding it to their own Amazon Music network. While no numbers have been disclosed, previous reports have valued the company at around $300 million, having produced hit podcasts such as Dirty John, Dr. Death, Business Wars, and The Shrink Next Door.
While a lot of us have probably been into podcasts for years now, it’s only lately that major media companies and streaming audio platforms have gotten into the thick of it. Spotify has been acquiring podcast networks left and right including Gimlet while SiriusXM has acquired Stitcher. Even The New York Times has acquired Serial Production. And of course, Amazon lately added support for podcasts and its other company Audible has started producing their own audio content.
Wondery will now become part of Amazon Music and will join other podcasts there which includes Amazon’s own original shows. They say that there will not be any changes for the listeners and the shows on the network will not be exclusive to Amazon only and will still be available through a variety of providers. The acquisition will allow Wondery to continue creating “high-quality, innovative content”. No news on what other changes will happen eventually.
Amazon Music has been continuing to build its portfolio to be able to compete with leaders like Spotify, Apple Music, etc. They added podcasts just last September 2020 and also recently partnered with video live game streaming service Twitch to bring live streaming to the platform as well. This also means that Alexa-supported devices can stream more content for its users with just a few voice commands away.
Of course this acquisition isn’t final yet as it is subject to the usual customary closing conditions. We’ll probably hear more about it once it’s finalized and if there will be changes to Wondery shows.
