Amazon dismisses the staff of Wondery because he rethink his podcast business

Amazon would have dismissed more than 100 employees while it revisits its podcast activity in the middle of major changes in industry.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that Amazon dismissed around 110 employees of his Podcast Wondery studio and transferring certain broadcasts to Audible, his other subsidiary focused on audio. As part of the upheaval, the CEO of Wondery, Jen Sargent, leaves the company.

The reorganization occurs while the podcast industry faces its own moment “Video Killed the Radio Star”, with video shows led by creators who increase in popularity and are therefore more monetitable.

The electronic commerce giant sent the following declaration to Gizmodo on the changes:

The podcast landscape has evolved significantly in recent years, in particular with the rise of video content led by the video and led by the creator. These changes reflect this evolution and will rationalize the way Wondery fits further into Amazon. By making these changes, we can better support the creators of monetization of their content on several channels, help them extend their brand IP and simplify the process for advertisers while making content more accessible to the public wherever they prefer to consume it. This development is based on Wondery’s early success with video shows and positions us to better serve creators, customers and advertisers.

In a memo to the staff obtained by Deadline, Steve Boom, audio vice-president, Twitch and Amazon games, said that the rise in video podcasting had created “different public needs” and requires “distinct strategies of discovery, growth and monetization” compared to traditional narrative audio podcasts.

In the letter, Boom said that Amazon reorganizes Wondery with his narrative podcasts like Dr Death And Business wars go to audible. Studio content director Marshall Lewy will also head to Audible.

For the programs led by Wondery of Creator like Dax Shepard Expert armchair And Jason and Travis Kelce New heightS, a new team of services of creators of the Amazon talent services division will take over. This team will continue to operate the Podcast studio focused on the creators under the Wondery brand, working closely with a limited group of better creators to extend their audience and deepen their partnership with Amazon.

Bloomberg highlighted Lebron James, who hosts the podcast Watch out for the game And served as first-rate spokesperson, like a plan for this new approach.

Amazon initially acquired Wondery in 2021 for around $ 300 million, according to media reports. At its peak, the studio saw some of its successful podcasts like Dirty john Adapted in television shows.

But Amazon is not the only company to pay a lot of money in podcasting. Last year, Spotify would have signed an $ 250 million agreement to continue managing the sponsorships of Joe Rogan’s podcast. Meanwhile, Siriusxm paid $ 125 million to poach Alex Cooper Calls his daddy Spotify podcast.

As competition has increased in industry, there have already been losers too. In June, Auacy, the radio giant belonging to a group led by Soros Fund Management, closed its studios Pineapple Street focused on the podcast.

Public media also faces challenges. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which helps finance national public radio (NPR), a pioneer in podcasting, should finish operations and dismiss the majority of its staff by September 30. This decision comes as President Donald Trump has reduced the funding of the non -profit organization.