Amazon is making major structural changes to its podcast operations, dissolving Wondery and absorbing its assets into other parts of the company. The move marks a shift toward prioritizing video-based content and tightening focus around talent-led podcasting ventures.
Wondery’s narrative-driven shows — including Business Wars, Scamfluencers, American Scandal, and American History Tellers — will now be housed under the Audible brand.
As part of the transition, Wondery COO Marshall Lewy will move over to Audible, while the Wondery+ subscription team will now report to Audible leadership. Wondery CEO Jen Sargent will depart the company, and more than 100 jobs are reportedly being eliminated as part of the restructuring.
Personality-driven shows such as New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, and LeBron James’ Mind the Game will fall under a new Creator Services division. That unit will be led by Amazon’s Matt Sandler, who previously served as Director/Head of Talent Content Services. Despite the changes, the Wondery brand will continue to be used for these shows.
In a memo to staff, Amazon Vice President of Audio, Twitch, and Games Steve Boom cited the rapidly changing podcast space as the driving factor behind the reorganization. He noted the increasing popularity of video podcasting and said the company is responding to evolving creator needs.
On the sales side, Angie More will now lead ad sales for Wondery and Amazon Music. Amy Grabisch’s Amazon Music sponsorship team will also report to More going forward.
Amazon acquired Wondery in 2020 for a reported $300 million. Under its umbrella, Wondery signed massive deals — including a three-year, nine-figure pact with the Kelce brothers — as it tried to establish itself as a top-tier content house in the podcasting boom.
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