Amazon Completes Purchase Of Podcast Maker Wondery

Following reports that Amazon was looking to acquire podcast creator Wondery, it has now done so, according to a release from the eCommerce giant on Wednesday (Dec. 30).

Wondery’s work will now be available through Amazon Music, per the company.

Wondery has put out podcasts including “Dirty John,” “Dr. Death,” “Business Wars” and “The Shrink Next Door,” according to Amazon.

Amazon writes that, when the deal closes, nothing will change for listeners, who will be able to keep accessing the podcasts through numerous providers.

But now, with the partnership with Amazon Music, Wondery “will be able to provide even more high-quality, innovative content and continue their mission of bringing a world of entertainment and knowledge to their audiences, wherever they listen,” the release says.

The idea is to expand what Amazon Music can offer, now drawing in podcasts as they continue to gain in popularity. The eCommerce giant’s music streaming service began offering podcasts in September.

Amazon also partnered with Twitch earlier this year, and touted that partnership as well as the one with Wondery as a way to help make a “premiere destination for creators.”

PYMNTS reported that Amazon was considering buying Wondery earlier in December. Wondery, according to unnamed sources quoted by The Wall Street Journal, is valued at over $300 million. That’s a wide increase since the June 2019 funding round that valued the company at just $100 million.

Wondery was one of the few remaining independent companies working in the podcast world, which WSJ wrote was a big incentive for a big tech company to step in and acquire it.

Wondery was also the sixth-most popular U.S. podcast publisher in September, according to statistics. It reported over 60 million downloads of its several shows in September this year, only dwarfed by big names like NPR, iHeart Media and The New York Times.