Amazon has reached an agreement to acquire podcast network Wondery. The platform will join Amazon Music, which recently expanded its offerings to play podcasts for listeners. Amazon has made clear that other providers will continue to host Wondery podcasts, so it won't be the exclusive home of Wondery content — at least not for the time being. The deal is reportedly worth over $300 million but is yet to be formally completed.
Wondery was founded by Hernan Lopez in January 2016 with the financial support of 20th Century Studios (formerly known as 20th Century Fox). Its most notable podcasts include American History Tellers, hosted by Lindsay Graham, Dirty John, hosted by Chris Goffard, and the highly-acclaimed Dr. Death, hosted by Laura Bell. Wondery had previously done business with Universal Music Group, Cumulus Media, and Al Jazeera Podcasts. Amazon Music started to host podcasts in September 2020, but the buyout of Wondery is its first big move since then. Wondery draws about 20 million unique listeners per month and is ranked as the fourth biggest podcast publisher by Podtrac.
On paper, the decision to buy out a company only for it to continue to exist on other platforms does sound questionable but, with Amazon at the helm, Wondery may expand in ways that will benefit it fiscally. By still allowing Wondery podcasts to be available on other marketplaces, Amazon likely figures that the exposure and earnings are too great to take an uncalculated risk on. If Amazon can manage to make Wondery's podcasts more successful with marketing and other resources, earnings made by Wondery are sure to increase further, which of course helps Amazon's bottom line.
Why Wondery Is An Important Purchase For Amazon
The acquisition of Wondery makes a difference in the podcast business in two big ways. Firstly, it puts Amazon immediately in the running to compete with SiriusXM, Spotify, and Apple, which have also started their own podcast divisions. With successful podcasts like Wondery's, Amazon does not need to worry about looking for podcasts to sign to exclusive deals and start from the bottom. Secondly, this prevents Wondery from hampering Amazon's podcast efforts in the future. Buying Wondery keeps it from either getting into the hands of a competitor or building the foundation to compete against Amazon on their own. Both of these scenarios would put Amazon at a disadvantage.
This partnership between the two companies will be a game-changer for the foreseeable future. Amazon has been late to the podcast game compared to its competitors but, of course, it is not a company that consumers often doubt. Wondery's critically-acclaimed catalog gives Amazon a much-needed stimulant for moving towards the forefront of yet another industry. Even if other companies continue to gain momentum, Amazon now has a successful slice of the podcast pie.