Amazon has announced significant changes to its podcast division, Wondery, as it combines its narrative podcast studio with its subsidiary, Audible. This restructuring is intended to make us operate more efficiently and, most importantly, allow us to better serve creators, customers, and advertisers to the best of our ability.
Wondery is best known for its hit narrative podcasts, like the runaway successes “Dr. Death” and “American Scandal.” With the recent changes though, the teams managing Wondery’s big-budget narrative podcasts will be kept separate from those producing more affordable creator-led shows. This strategy shift underscores a critical evolution in the podcasting landscape. It’s indicative of how much the industry is leaning into video-first content and creator-led initiatives.
The news arrived in the form of a tweet, followed by an emailed statement from Amazon, which owns Wondery. The company emphasized that the adjustments are designed to streamline Wondery’s integration into Amazon, thereby enhancing overall functionality and outreach.
“The podcast landscape has evolved significantly in the past few years, particularly with the rise of video-forward, creator-led content,” – Amazon.
The reorganization seeks to capitalize on Wondery’s early successes in video-forward programming. It’s looking to position the company so that it can better reflect the diverse audience it serves. Amazon’s doing these things to enable creators to monetize their content across video, audio, and indie channels. They are always looking to increase brand IP and reduce complexity for advertisers.
Wondery is taking a different tack! One team will work with them to level-up their existing narrative podcasts, while a second team will focus on producing new, creator-driven shows. This dual-team structure is designed to balance the creative and innovation-forward development and production workflow with the complex needs of emerging global creators and audiences.
“These changes reflect that evolution and will streamline how Wondery integrates further into Amazon. 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. This evolution builds on Wondery’s early success with video-forward shows and positions us to better serve creators, customers, and advertisers.” – Amazon.
