Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) just announced that it will acquire a podcast company known as Wondery as part of its plan to expand its presence in the audio segment.
Wondery will become part of Amazon’s music streaming business, particularly the podcast segment which it introduced in September this year. There was a lot of speculation about the Wondery’s acquisition prior to the announcement. The independent podcast platform confirmed the Amazon acquisition. Previous reports mentioned Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) as potential buyers.
Evaluating Amazon’s plan with Wondery
The acquisition will allow Amazon to compete more effectively against podcast giants like Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) and Apple which are also seeking more dominance in the segment. Amazon revealed that it plans to use the acquisition to speed up podcast growth and evolution by providing a platform though which hosts and content creators can express themselves. The company plans to offer immersive experiences to audiences across the world.
Wondery will not be the only podcast platform owned by Amazon. The company also owns another highly successful podcast and audiobook platform called Audible which also has exclusive content. Amazon’s list of audio platforms also extends to Amazon Music.
Amazon did not reveal the value of the acquisition although Wondery is estimated to be worth more than $300 million. The podcast company’s current CEO Hernan Lopez will step down as soon as the acquisition deal is complete, and he will be succeeded by Jen Sargent, the company’s current COO. The podcast platform has been around since 2016 and it quickly grew into one of the most popular podcas t companies in the world.
Wondery has popular podcasts such as “Over My Dead Body,” “Dr. Death” and “Dirty John.” The podcast reportedly receives more than 10 million listeners every month, which means that it enjoys significant traffic. It also explains why it was quickly snapped up by Amazon because it is already highly successful and has a lot of growth potential.