Amazon buys Wondery podcast network to compete with Spotify |Wondery, one of the largest independent podcast networks in the world, is going to be bought by Amazon, a company that launches an ordeal to Spotify - which recently bought Megaphone - to become the queen of the podcast market in the world.
For the music streaming service of Swedish origin, podcasts have become a cornerstone of its strategy and on these they underpin its growth. Amazon has Amazon Music, which launched its podcast service last September, but has now also announced that it will take over Wondery, thus eliminating rumors that Apple or Sony could take over Wondery at a stroke.
The company has confirmed the acquisition, which will be completed during the first months of the year, and will mean that Wondery becomes part of Amazon Music . However, the firm has not confirmed the price it has paid for the network. In any case, it is estimated that Wondery may be worth close to $ 300 million.
What has been confirmed is that the hitherto CEO of Wondery, Hernan López, will leave the company as soon as the acquisition agreement is closed by Amazon. It will be the current Wondery COO who will take over the business.
Amazon has acknowledged that it will not change its podcast programming policy on Amazon Music after the acquisition of Wondery, although it expressly indicates that it will mean the acceleration in the growth and evolution of the possibilities that are offered to both creators and the public who listen. programs anywhere in the world.
What is not known is how the acquisition will affect Audible , the platform also owned by Amazon that creates its own podcasts and markets them to the audience. It could be that in the future Amazon Music podcasts and Audible podcasts will be integrated into a single product, but for now both platforms will continue to exist independently.