Amazon is splitting up its Wondery podcast studio simply 4 years after buying it, as first reported by Bloomberg. As a part of the change, the studio will shed round 110 staff, whereas Wondery CEO Jen Sargent will depart the corporate.
In a press release to The Verge, Amazon spokesperson Alice Zhou confirmed that whereas Wondery will proceed to supply podcasts, its narrative-driven studio, which has developed reveals like Dr. Demise, American Scandal, and Enterprise Wars, will merge with Amazon’s Audible workforce.
Its celebrity-hosted reveals, such as New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce, LeBron James’ Thoughts the Recreation, and Dax Shepard’s Armchair Professional, will be a part of a brand new “creator providers” workforce that may concentrate on “promoting massive sponsorships,” in line with Bloomberg. A few of these reveals will maintain the Wondery branding, whereas the Wondery Plus app will even stay accessible after the shuffle, in line with Bloomberg.
“The podcast panorama has developed considerably previously few years, significantly with the rise of video-forward, creator-led content material,” Zhou stated. “These adjustments replicate that evolution and can streamline how Wondery integrates additional into Amazon.” Zhou added that “many” of the Wondery staff impacted by the studio’s cut up moved to “different components of Amazon.”