The company was valued at $100 million in July 2019. The talks valued Wondery at over $300 million, according to the publication. The Wall Street Journal reported on December 2 that Amazon was in talks to buy the podcast maker. The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday that Lopez will leave Wondery after the deal closes and the company’s Chief Operating Officer Jen Sargent will take over the leadership team. “When the deal closes, nothing will change for listeners, and they’ll continue to be able to access Wondery podcasts through a variety of providers,” Amazon said in a statement.Įarlier in 2020, Wondery CEO Chief Executive Hernan Lopez was charged with wire fraud and money laundering alongside two former FOX TV executives. A Wondery spokesperson did not return a request for comment.Īmazon noted in its announcement of the deal that Wondery’s podcasts would continue to be available on platforms outside of Amazon Music. It is unclear how the deal could impact future film and television adaptations of Wondery’s podcasts. (A representative for Amazon Music declined to share updated figures but said the podcast’s monthly numbers have “grown exponentially month over month” since the February launch.) Though new and existing episodes of Strange, Dark and Mysterious will now be housed exclusively on Amazon Music, Allen will still be able to upload content to his YouTube channels: MrBallen, with 6.7 million subscribers, and MrBallen Shorts, a separate channel dedicated to shorter-form content with 2.1 million subscribers.The Film Industry Lost Some Titans This Year - What Happens Now? The show originated on YouTube in March 2020, when Allen - usually seen wearing a backwards baseball cap and flannel shirt - began recounting “DISTURBING” and “TERRIFYING” (all-caps included) stories on the video platform and quickly built a dedicated fan following.īy February of this year, Allen launched the podcast version of his show - sans video - and found quick success as of June, Strange, Dark and Mysterious was generating nearly 7 million monthly downloads as a podcast while Allen’s YouTube videos brought in more than 40 million monthly views, according to The Verge. The MrBallen Podcast has become a runaway hit since launching as a podcast in February, topping charts on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify in the true-crime category. Amazon didn’t disclose the purchase price, but a. Working with Amazon Music allows us to do just that,” Allen said. said it has agreed to acquire podcast producer Wondery, the online retail giant’s latest move to beef up its audio offerings. I will always be dedicated to bringing them the best, and continually raising the bar with the art of storytelling. “The Strange, Dark and Mysterious community is the only reason I have the platform that I do today. Amazon - with its Amazon Studios, Prime Video and Prime shopping arms - would naturally be poised to support those expansions. In a statement shared on Tuesday, Allen said Ballen Studios has ambitions to expand into TV, film, books and games. Amazon will also have the first-look rights to new ventures from Allen’s media company, Ballen Studios, which counts former Night Media manager Nick Witters as its CEO and former Cadence13 executive vp Steve Cohen as its head of sales. The three-year deal with Allen, brokered by UTA, is also expansive for a homegrown podcast creator in that it doesn’t end with audio. The podcast is hosted and reported by Laura Beil and. Wondery Presents - Flipping The Bird: Elon vs Twitter. Death is a podcast produced by Wondery that focuses on egregious cases of medical malpractice. Now, the tech giant is placing its exclusivity bets on Allen and the Ballen brand, hoping that the rising star can burnish its audio streaming platform as it competes with Spotify and Apple for listeners and talent. The outcome of these battles shapes what we buy and how we live. Wondery touted to be the last independent podcast maker with a healthy revenue stream and sizeable audience under its belt launched a premium tier of its service earlier this year. In turn, Amazon - which certainly has the money to spend - would get a slice of these shows’ lucrative ad businesses and build its reputation as a go-to place for top creators turned off by the prospects of a walled garden, which could potentially result in a decline in listenership and reach. In competing with Spotify, which set the standard for exclusive podcasts through its multimillion-dollar deals with Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper, Amazon appeared to be forging down a different path by offering talent the best of both worlds: the multimillion-dollar riches of an exclusive deal, without the major commitment. Viola Davis' Ashé Audio Ventures Inks Multi-Project Deal With Audible (Exclusive)
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