- General
- November 7, 2020
- 5 minutes read
Apple Said To Mull Wondery Buy
Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo credit: Vivek Prakash/Fortune, under Creative Commons license Tech giant Apple has held talks about acquiring…
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| Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Photo credit: Vivek Prakash/Fortune, under Creative Commons license
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Tech giant Apple has held talks about acquiring podcast network Wondery for a possible price of between $300 million to $400 million, according to a report [paywalled] from Bloomberg. According to Bloomberg, Apple along with entertainment giant Sony has considered acquiring Wondery, which is one of the biggest independent podcasting studios and networks.
It’s such that a $400 million price tag for Wondery would mark the biggest acquisition in the nascent podcasting industry, beating the current record of $325 million that satellite radio company Sirius XM paid to acquire podcasting network Stitcher this year.
Acquisition talks for Wondery haven’t been formalized and could fall through because of Wondery’s desired price tag, Bloomberg reports. For Apple, acquiring Wondery would mark the tech giant’s biggest investment in podcasting in recent years and give the company a robust library of original podcasting content. Earlier this year, Apple acquired Scout FM, a podcasting service that turns shows into radio-like stations so it seems clear that the company is looking to expand in the podcasting space.
Podcasting is still a budding industry and currently generates less than $1 billion a year in advertising revenue, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. The market is, however, poised for rapid growth, and as such seen companies like Apple and streaming service Spotify make significant investments in the space to capture market share. Last year, Spotify paid about $600 million for four podcast acquisitions, namely Anchor, Gimlet Media, Parcast, and The Ringer.
Wondery was founded in 2016 by Hernan Lopez, a former executive at 21st Century Fox. The company is backed by investors including Fox, Lerer Hippeau, Greycroft, BAM Ventures, and Powerhouse Ventures.
Wondery’s founder, Lopez, is currently facing legal battles after being charged with bribing soccer officials to win broadcasting rights when he worked at 21st Century Fox. He’s pleaded not guilty and is fighting the charges in court.
