Apple has reportedly held preliminary acquisition talks with Wondery, a podcast company.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is interested in taking over Wondery, with executives reportedly requesting around $300 million as part of the deal. Other companies, like Sony Music, are reportedly also interested in taking over the company, though Spotify is not one of those, as it’s developing its own podcast network and acquiring individual podcast shows.
Should Apple pay the proposed $300 million for Wondery, it would become one of the biggest deals in podcasting. A deal should be established within the next month, though we don’t know for certain whether it will be Apple that comes out on top.
Right now, Wondery attracts more than eight million listeners, which would be a huge coup for Apple’s podcasting efforts, as it struggles to compete against Spotify and regional competitors like BBC Sounds.
If Apple goes ahead with the deal, it would suddenly own a library of original content, as well as a team of experts who could build upon the success of Apple TV+ shows.
Wondery is already working on TV shows based on original podcasts, including a new series that’s based on WeWork – it will premiere exclusively on Apple TV+ in 2021.
Apple’s interest in Wondery isn’t out of the blue – the company has been attempting to ramp up its podcasting efforts ever since Spotify began purchasing brands such as Gimlet Media.
The Cupertino company hit back by acquiring Pop Up Archive in 2017, and in early 2020, it bought Scout FM, which is a company that turns podcast shows into specialist radio stations.
Are you excited to hear this news? Are you ready for yet another service from Apple? Would you pay for Apple Podcasts+? Let us know and check back soon for more news, when we get it.
