Wondery CEO Jen Sargent is departing the Amazon-owned podcast company amid a significant restructuring that will integrate its operations more deeply with Amazon’s other audio and video platforms. The reorganization includes approximately 110 layoffs.
As part of the changes, Wondery’s narrative podcast division, known for acclaimed series like Dr. Death, American Scandal, and Business Wars, will be moved under Audible. Wondery’s Chief Content Officer, Marshall Lewy, will transition to Audible’s content team.
Meanwhile, Wondery’s creator-led, video-focused shows, such as New Heights and Armchair Expert, will form a new Creator Services organization within Amazon’s Talent Services team. This unit, led by Matt Sandler, will continue to operate under the Wondery brand.
An internal memo from Steve Boom, vice president of audio, Twitch, and games, explained the new structure aims to foster deeper, cross-platform relationships with top creators. This strategy is exemplified by LeBron James’s podcast, Mind the Game, which saw its audio and video episodes distributed across Prime Video, Amazon Music, and other company platforms, with James also serving as a spokesperson for Prime Day.
“The podcast landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years,” the memo stated. “As video podcasting has grown in popularity, we have learned that creator-led, video-integrated shows have different audience needs and require distinct discovery, growth and monetization strategies compared to audio-first, narrative series.”
Sargent’s departure comes after seven years with Wondery, four of which were under Amazon’s ownership. The memo confirmed she “will be moving on to pursue new opportunities” while assisting with the transition.
The restructuring also includes the creation of a new, unified team for sponsorship advertising across both Wondery and Amazon Music, which will be led by Angie More.
These changes follow the recent departure of two major Wondery podcasts, SmartLess and Morbid, which moved to competitor SiriusXM.
