U.S. stocks edge higher; solid earnings season continues
Investing.com -- Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is shutting down its Wondery podcast studio and reorganizing the audio service’s operations, resulting in about 110 job cuts.
Wondery Chief Executive Officer Jen Sargent will leave the company as part of the restructuring, according to a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg News.
The company plans to distribute existing Wondery content across different divisions. Some series will move under Amazon’s Audible banner, while personality-driven shows, including the podcast hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce, will become part of a new "creator services" team.
Steve Boom, Amazon’s vice president of audio, Twitch and games, explained in the memo that "the podcast landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years" and that "the rise of video has also blurred the lines on what it means to be a podcast creator."
The restructuring signals that Amazon’s major podcast initiative hasn’t delivered expected results. The company is adjusting its strategy to better compete with platforms like Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc.’s YouTube as podcasts increasingly incorporate video elements.
As part of the reorganization, the Wondery+ team will report to Audible. Wondery’s narrative-driven studio, which produces shows like the Dr. Death series, will merge with Audible. Marshall Lewy, Wondery’s Chief Content Officer, will join Audible in a new role.
Wondery’s major talent shows, such as those hosted by Dax Shepard, will transition to the creator services team. This move aims to improve large sponsorship sales and integrations across Amazon’s platform, following a model established with LeBron James, who hosts the Mind the Game podcast and has served as a Prime Day spokesperson promoting his male-grooming products.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.