Dr. Seuss enters podcasting with Wondery

Dr. Seuss Enterprises, owner of the epochal children’s books, is partnering with Wondery to enter podcasting. Rather than make literal audio dramas of the books, the approach of this partnership appears to create original content in audio. It drops September 18 and is an exclusive presentation; only Wondery+ users will gain access. Lots more details here. Continue Reading

NPR’s “How I Built This” moves to Wondery / Amazon in exclusive licensing deal

Apple top-10 charter and NPR hit How I Built This with Guy Roz has been licensed by Amazon Music subsidiary Wondery for semi-exclusive distribution. Wondery and Amazon get the show exclusively for a week, and also enjoy exclusive ad-repping. NPR continues to underwrite. Click for details. Continue Reading

Jeff Umbro: Content Moderation: Twitter, YouTube, Podcasts?

by Jeff Umbro

In this week’s column, The Podglomerate CEO Jeff Umbro grapples with the often-overlooked, always-challenging topic of podcast content moderation. Should podcasting undergo the level of scrutiny that social networks do? Along with these ruminations, the column catches up with news from Spotify, Apple, and elsewhere. Continue Reading

Amazon buys Wondery to join Amazon Music

The deal is not yet closed, but the agreement is. As rumored, Amazon will acquire Wondery, the last of the major creative networks in podcasting’s resurgent era to lose indie status. Amazon positions the company as joining Amazon Music, where Amazon’s podcast directory lives, but we see a future in Audible Originals for wondery’s creative production. Founder/CEO Hernan Lopez will step down to manage his new foundation; COO Jen Sargent will take over. Click through for quotes and context. Continue Reading

Wondery pulls “Business Wars” into Wondery Plus subscription service

One of Wondery’s best known shows, Business Wars, is preparing a new season that will be distributed exclusively by Wondery Plus, the company’s ad-free subscription service. Some podcasts presented in Wondery Plus also are distributed via RSS normally, with ads in the programs. In this case, the new season of Business Wars is called and “Wondery + Exclusive.”  Continue Reading

DAX scores exclusive sales for Wondery in Canada

Podcast content network Wondery has appointed DAX as its exclusive advertising partner in Canada, we are learning today. DAX will offer Canadian advertisers spot ads and host-read sponsorship messages. Wondery continues to be enterprisingly international. Although translation is probably not necessary for the Canadian market, wondery has been a pioneer in translating hit shows for non-English speaking audiences in other parts of the world. Continue Reading