Amazon move into podcast advertising has shocked the industry following their acquisition of the distribution rights for the SmartLess podcast hosted by actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes.
The ecommerce giant is reportedly spending over $20 million on distribution rights which will be exclusive on Amazon before being distributed to other platforms. Sounds like they’re spending alot of a podcast right?
But this move is strategic as Amazon will be selling advertising slots on the podcast which racks in over $7 to $10 million downloads per episode bringing in $6 to $7million in advertising. Yes per episode.
This is a major move for Amazon primarily because podcast advertising is predicated to hit $1billion this year. But also because the platform is very new to the podcasting sphere and their acquisition of podcast network Wondery will give them access to a larger pool for podcast advertising for their expanding network.
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In short, while the ecommerce platform is new to the podcasting industry, Amazon has single-handedly positioned themselves to become the biggest name in podcast advertising.
“To become a player in the audio advertising market for podcasting, we need to be an intellectual property owner,” says Steve Boom, the head of Amazon Music. “The market for audio ads is growing quickly. Consumer behaviors are evolving, and this is a global opportunity.”
Amazon has a 10% share of all digital advertising in the U.S., and audio is a growing part of that.
Spotify has simultaneously revolutionised the platform from music streaming and the world of podcasting within the space of 3 years with their exclusive deals, paid subscriptions, creation of ClubHouse clone Greenroom, transcriptions. But it seems as though Amazon has tapped into a reserve that the other podcast giants may have missed. Or perhaps they’re the early bird whose got the juiciest worm.
Either way, Amazon’s venture into podcast advertising led by Steve Boom could no longer stay under wraps especially since the medium has become more popular after the 2020 global lockdown. With Samsung, Facebook, Netflix and Google Podcasts stepping foot into podcasting, it’s only right that Amazon joins the social audio sphere.
Advertising is the fastest growing part of the Amazon business model and with the number of podcast listeners/creators growing day by day, this was a strategic move to tap into an ever growing reserve.
Go hard or go home right Amazon!
