Amazon is restructuring its Wondery podcast studio, which it acquired in 2021 for $300 million, leading to the layoff of approximately 110 employees. The narrative-driven studio will merge with Amazon's Audible team, while celebrity-hosted shows will form a new 'creator services' team focusing on large sponsorship sales. Despite the changes, Wondery will continue producing podcasts and maintain its branding for certain shows, alongside the continued availability of the Wondery Plus app. The podcast landscape has been shifting towards video-forward content, influencing this organizational change.
The podcast landscape has evolved significantly in the past few years, particularly with the rise of video-forward, creator-led content. These changes reflect that evolution and will streamline how Wondery integrates further into Amazon.
As part of the change, the studio will shed around 110 employees, while Wondery CEO Jen Sargent will leave the company.
Some of these shows will keep the Wondery branding, while the Wondery Plus app will also remain available after the shuffle.
Amazon closed its $300 million deal to acquire Wondery in 2021. Over the past few years, the podcast industry has undergone a shift to video that has helped make YouTube the most popular platform for podcasts.
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