"If we can keep that culture of risk taking, pushing the envelope, then we'll be able to adapt as we see more changes in the podcast space.Amazon is expanding on its digital content catalog with the acquisition of podcast maker Wondery. "Wondery has always had a culture of taking risks," Sargent said. Aligning with Amazon - which via Amazon Music and Audible is investing more deeply in audio storytelling - has given Wondery the resources to stay ahead of the changing landscape. There is far more competition in podcasting than when Wondery started in 2016, particularly as tech giants like Spotify and Apple go head-to-head with legacy media to nab top talent and buzzy shows. That will be an exciting opportunity for all of us." "These behaviors that we're seeing in the US market and the revenue streams, I mean, it's all still early but I think they absolutely apply to global markets. "As I look into the future, Wondery will not be the only podcast publisher looking to expand to a global footprint," Sargent said. But with the tech giant's resources and global infrastructure, Wondery - which employs more than 100 people - plans to hire executives outside the US as it looks to increase its reach in new regions.
Death" in seven local languages, for example.
AMAZON PODCAST MAKER WONDERY SERIES
Prior to its acquisition by Amazon, Wondery dabbled in international content, offering 2019 true crime series "Dr. She's also looking at ways to bring the company's stories to an international stage, where podcast consumption is on the rise thanks to efforts by major platforms like Spotify. But Sargent isn't just thinking about growing Wondery's domestic audience. "Consumer adoption has accelerated way more than I even expected when I joined Wondery," said Sargent, who was interviewed for her inclusion on Insider's 2021 list of 100 people transforming business.Īpproximately 162 million Americans - about 57% of the population - have listened to a podcast. As part of the deal, Sargent - who previously ran pop-culture site HitFix - was upped to CEO, replacing founder Hernan Lopez in the role. The industry's resurgence drove significant opportunity for Wondery, which sold to Amazon for about $300 million at the end of 2020. "Now that we're - I hope I can say - starting to get back to some normalcy, we're finding that consumers have kept that behavior and added back commuting and added back travel," Sargent added. They started listening when they're walking the dog, when they're exercising, when they're around the house, when they're playing with the kids. "But what happened is they found new use cases for podcasts. "When people stopped commuting back in March, they needed a few months to figure out their routine," said Sargent, acknowledging that a lot of podcast consumption occurs in the car. In fact, the number of Americans ages 12 and up who listen to podcasts monthly grew to 116 million people, according to the Infinite Dial 2021 report. "We didn't know what was going to happen to podcast listening," Jen Sargent told Insider of the early days of the pandemic, when the Wondery CEO was still serving as the podcast producer's chief operating officer.īut Wondery didn't waver in its focus on providing narrative-driven audio stories to customers and soon the industry-wide decline in podcast consumption righted itself. When the COVID-19 shutdown first took effect in March 2020 and many Americans became homebound, podcast listenership took a noticeable dip. Click here for Morning Brew’s privacy policy. It often indicates a user profile.īy clicking “Sign Up,” you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew and you accept Insider’s Terms and Privacy Policy. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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