Amazon-owned podcast company Wondery has launched three new video podcast channels across its parent company’s ad-supported TV streaming service Freevee, in order to expand its audience and revenue streams.
According to a report by Digiday, Wondery will be publishing the same video podcast content it has on its YouTube channel across the new ad-supported streaming channels on Freevee, including podcasts like Baby, This is Keke Palmer, We Playin’ Spades, and more. The channels will be dedicated to true crime, sports, and entertainment and culture podcasts, and will include on-camera interviews, animation, and moving artwork.
To access the Wondery channels, users can find them through the Freevee app and through Fire TV and Prime Video. Wondery COO Jeanine Wright told Digiday that there are currently no plans to curate exclusive content for the Freevee podcast channels.
Wondery’s Freevee podcast channels will also allow brands more opportunities to advertise on the shows with sponsorships and integrations, further expanding the ways in which Wondery can monetise its podcast content. All ad inventory across Wondery’s new TV channels will be handled by Freevee.
“Podcast video is very much an emerging business for us,” said Wright. “I don’t think we’ve figured out exactly what the advertising opportunities on Freevee are going to be… It’s okay to be trying something new, trying to see how this resonates with the audience, and then figuring out how best we should go about monetising this.”
At this year’s IAB UK Podcast Upfronts, which took place on Thursday afternoon last week, Wondery’s UK head of sales Nicole Gardner spoke about the company’s evolving podcast strategy and how the next phase will focus more on its “ability to travel beyond headphones”. The company has already sold more than 25 shows to networks, studios, and streamers - including true crime shows Dr. Death and The Shrink Next Door.
