One of the last major independent podcast networks in the U.S. will soon become a subsidiary of Amazon.
On Wednesday, the E-commerce giant announced who had acquired Wondery, the podcast publisher best known for successful serialized shows like “Dirty John”, “Dr. Death, ”“ Business Wars, ”and“ The Shrink Next Door ”.
“Amazon Music launched podcasts in September 2020 and, together with Wondery, we hope to accelerate the growth and evolution of podcasts, bringing creators, hosts and engaging experiences to even more listeners around the world, just as we do with music” , says the company said in the statement. “This is a crucial time to expand Amazon Music’s offering beyond music, as the listener’s habits evolve.”
Although Amazon did not initially disclose the terms of the long-awaited According to the agreement, a Wall Street Journal report speculated that Amazon could have raised the Wondery for about $ 300 million – a value that would far exceed the price Paid Spotify when dug Gimlet Media back in 2019.
Another source who spoke to the Journal suggested that Wondery was on its way to earning annual revenue from more than $ 40 million in 2020, with about 75% of that profit from advertising.
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The Spotify business seems to be the bronze ring that Amazon is looking for, especially considering that the ex-company’s incursion into podcasts has been so successful that it’s supposedly already considering launching one for subscribers only layer.
Although Amazon did not outline a closing date for the deal, it noted in a blog post that the experience of listening to Wondery content would not change for users in the short term and would use its resources to “continue to attract more customers to streaming as we expand the selection and ensure that we are a destination for our customers to find, discover and listen to the creators and artists they like ”.