According to Bloomberg’s sources, Amazon is closing Wondery, breaking up the company’s operations as part of a reorganization of audio business, with 110 employees being let go as a result. An internal memo shared with Bloomberg also notes Wondery CEO Jen Sargent is leaving Amazon. Teams working on Wondery+ and narrative content are now reporting to Audible as narrative content is folded into that brand, including Chief Content Officer Marshall Lewy moving to a new role at Audible. Personality-driven podcasts (e.g. celebrity chat shows like the Kelce brothers’ In the Heights) are to become part of a “creator services” team. The advertising and sponsorship side of Wondery will be formed into a new team that does similar work across both Amazon Music and creator-focused content. The anonymous source tells Bloomberg the Wondery brand will continue existing on certain podcasts, and the Wondery+ app is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
After Loss of Federal Funding, CPB to Shut Down Operations by Mark Mwachiro
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has announced they are shutting down after loss of federal funding. Employees are expected to see their terms of employment finish out with the end of the fiscal year on September 30th, with a skeleton crew retained to finish closing down operations through January of next year. While PBS and NPR as overall organizations are expected to continue, individual public media stations that received a significant amount of funding from the CPB will now be largely reliant on direct contributions from viewers to stay in operation.
SiriusXM Reports Drop to 33 Million Paid Subscribers, Strength in Podcasting by Caitlin Huston
MSN coverage of SiriusXM’s Q2 report. While the 33 million paid subscriber number is down from last quarter, it’s the fifth quarter of improvement for the company. For example, SiriusXM shed 100,000 paid subs in Q2 2024, compared to 68k this year. Podcast performance remains a highlight, with revenue up nearly 50% year-over-year, attributed to expanded video and social monetization.
Most Americans Were Never Interested in Meghan Markle Podcasting by Jack Royston
Confessions of a Female Founder is Meghan Markle’s latest podcast production, and it’s following previous show Archetypes’ lead of receiving lukewarm reception. A YouGov survey of 5,400 U.S. adults back in December of 2020 asked how much interest they had in listening to a podcast by the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry’s podcasts. 8% marked “very interested” while 53% said “not at all interested.” Markle is a bankable name, with her boutique brand As Ever consistently selling out products within minutes of release. Yet the YouGov survey stands as a reminder of the importance of purpose and clear intent. For a celebrity podcast to thrive, it needs the intentionality and commitment consistently found in successful examples (from Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, to The Ron Burgandy Podcast). Simply putting someone famous in front of a mic is not a full recipe.
As for the rest of the news…
- Sounds Profitable’s own Bryan Barletta is the guest in today’s episode of the PodBiz Podcast, discussing sustainable podcast growth, building industry transparency, and the future of audio as a media platform.
- RainNews has coverage of Driving to Action, the third part of Sounds Profitable’s The Advertising Landscape study that highlights actions taken by respondents who consume podcasts on a near-daily basis.
- Headgum co-founder Marty Michael celebrates the tenth anniversary of the company with a look back at Headgum’s growth.
- Podcast Business Journal has a new interview with Roger Nairn, CEO of JAR Audio Solutions, about the recent rebrand and the company’s new Job, Audience and Result (JAR) system.
- British history enthusiast Harry White joins The Radcast Network with his show The Modern British History Podcast.
- Edison Research has published the top 10 podcast networks in the U.S. (by weekly reach) for Q2, with iHeartPodcasts, SiriusXM Podcast Network, and Spotify taking the top three.
- For something fun to end out the afternoon: James Cridland over at Podnews has a release detailing Brazilian author Camila Fremder’s experience accidentally walking into the wrong studio for a similarly-named podcast she was supposed to appear on, but still committing to a 44 minute interview anyway.
