Amazon Acquires Podcast Start-Up Wondery

In a move to boost its non-music content on the Amazon Music App, Amazon said on Wednesday that it will be acquiring the podcast startup ‘Wondery’, which stands at a speculated valuation of more than $300 million.

Wondery, which houses popular podcasts like “Dirty John,” “Dr. Death” and “Business Wars,” has about 20 million monthly unique listeners, and would prove to be a great addition to the application, if Amazon wishes to overtake its already podcast-equipped competitors like Spotify.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Wondery will become part of Amazon Music, which added support for podcasts (including its own original shows) in September, and the company’s announcement claims that “nothing will change for listeners” and that the network’s podcasts will continue to be available from “a variety of providers.”

“With Amazon Music, Wondery will be able to provide even more high-quality, innovative content and continue their mission of bringing a world of entertainment and knowledge to their audiences, wherever they listen,” Amazon wrote.

The podcast startup was founded in 2016 by former Fox executive Hernan Lopez. Numbers from Podtrac rank it as the fourth largest podcast publisher in November, with an audience in the U.S. of more than 9 million unique listeners. Wondery has raised a total of $15 million in funding from Advancit Capital, BDMI, Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau, and others, according to Crunchbase.

Source: MacDailyNews

Amazon also wrote about its podcasting titles, saying, “Amazon Music launched podcasts in September 2020, and together with Wondery, we hope to accelerate the growth and evolution of podcasts by bringing creators, hosts, and immersive experiences to even more listeners across the globe, just as we do with music. This is a pivotal moment to expand the Amazon Music offering beyond music as listener habits evolve. 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. Together with Wondery, we will continue to bring more customers to streaming as we expand selection and ensure we are a destination for our customers to find, discover, and listen to the creators and artists they enjoy.”