Amazon Heats Up Podcasting War With Wondery Acquisition: What You Need To Know

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN announced Wednesday that it has reached an agreement to acquire podcast publisher Wondery.

What Happened: The two companies didn’t reveal the terms of the deal, which is yet to close.

The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier this month that Amazon was in exclusive talks to acquire Wondery at above $300 million valuation.

Amazon said nothing would change for Wondery listeners even after it becomes a part of the e-commerce giant and its content would continue to be available on platforms of “a variety of providers.”

What Does Wondery Bring To The Table? Wondery is best known for its true-crime content delivered in engaging cinematic ways, as noted by the Journal earlier.

Its offerings include “Dirty John,” “The Shrink Next Door,” “Business Wars,” and “Dr. Death,” among others.

The podcast network will become a part of the Jeff Bezos-led company’s music streaming unity Amazon Music.

Amazon Music added podcasts to its offerings in September and has been looking to catch up with competitors by trying to rope in independent networks and artists.

The company said in a statement that with Wondery on-board, it hopes “to accelerate the growth and evolution of podcasts by bringing creators, hosts, and immersive experiences to even more listeners across the globe, just as we do with music.”

“This is a pivotal moment to expand the Amazon Music offering beyond music as listener habits evolve,” Amazon added.

Why The Acquisition Matters: Amazon Music trails rivals Spotify Technology SA SPOT and Apple Inc.’s AAPL music streaming service in subscriptions.

The Wondery acquisition comes at a time when companies are increasingly looking to scoop up artists and networks ahead of rivals. According to a Bloomberg report from November, both Apple and Sony Corp. SNE also held discussions to acquire Wondery.

Spotify acquired Bill Simmons' The Ringer earlier this year after adding Gimlet and Parcast in 2019, as it looked to boost its podcast content library.

Some of the podcasters it signed up on its platform in the last two years include Joe Rogan, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and Barack and Michelle Obama.

Among other major podcast-related acquisitions of late, the New York Times Company NYT scooped up Serial Productions and Entercom Communications Corp. ETM bought Pineapple Street Media and Cadence13.

 Price Action: Amazon shares closed 1.09% lower at $3,285.85 on Wednesday.

See Also: Amazon Asks Podcasters To Stream On Its Platforms, But Content Shouldn't 'Disparage' The E-commerce Giant