Amazon has acquired podcast production company Wondery. In a blog post, Amazon states that the acquisition deal is yet to be finalized.
The deal is part of Amazon’s efforts to offer more products to users under the Amazon music platform. The company launched the podcast segment in September 2020.
The online retail giant bets on Wondery’s top-rated podcasts catalog that includes shows like ‘Dirty John,’ ‘Dr. Death,’ ‘Business Wars,’ and ‘The Shrink Next Door.’ With the acquisition, the shows will now be part of the Amazon Music library.
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Existing Wondery users will not change their means of accessing the company’s podcasts. The podcast producer will, however, offer content through Amazon Music.
Amazon Music expansion plan
The acquisition comes as the online retailer innovates new means to expand the Amazon Music platform beyond music. To improve music offering, Amazon has reached other deals with companies like Twitch. Amazon states that:
“Our commitment to podcasts, our focus on high-quality audio with the Amazon Music HD tier, and our recent partnership with Twitch to bring live streaming into the app makes Amazon Music a premiere destination for creators.”
Wondery joined the podcast industry in 2016 by former Fox executive Hernan Lopez. The startup has since raised a total of $15 million in funding from Advancit Capital, BDMI, Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau, and others, as per Crunchbase data.
Amazon is now part of big companies betting on podcasts to expand revenue streams and reach more customers.
