Amazon is breaking up its Wondery podcast studio as consumption of the medium shifts to video and personality-driven shows, according to a memo viewed by Business Insider.
About 110 people are being let go as a result, a person familiar with the matter told BI. Also exiting is Wondery’s CEO Jen Sargent.
Amazon made a big bet on podcasts when it acquired Wondery in 2021 for what The New York Times reported was $300 million. The studio has established a track record of producing strong narrative podcasts, some of which turned into TV shows like “Dirty John” and “Dr. Death.”
But podcasting has increasingly been dominated by personality-driven shows — like those from Joe Rogan, Mel Robbins, and Amy Poehler — and video podcasts, particularly on YouTube. In a sign of this shift, Pineapple Street Studios, which distinguished itself with prestige narrative documentary podcasts like “Missing Richard Simmons” and “Heaven’s Gate,” shut down in June.
“The podcast landscape has evolved significantly in the past few years, particularly with the rise of video-forward, creator-led content,” Amazon said in a statement on the reorg.
In recognition of these market conditions, Amazon is separating the teams that make its narrative podcasts from those that develop its creator-led shows. The narrative podcasts will move to Amazon’s audiobook division, Audible, where they’ll focus on audio-led storytelling. Wondery will seek to build out its big-name podcasts like Jason and Travis Kelce’s podcast “New Heights,” which are sold as part of bespoke ad sponsorship packages, similar to how deals are done with Amazon Music.
“By making these changes, we can better support creators in monetizing their content across multiple channels, help them expand their brand IP, and simplify the process for advertisers while making content more accessible to audiences wherever they prefer to consume it,” Amazon said.
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Bloomberg earlier reported on the reorg.
Here’s the memo to staff from Steve Boom, Amazon VP overseeing audio and music, Twitch, and games, explaining the changes.
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