Amazon’s Wondery Ceases Operations in Mexico and Brazil Amid…

Amazon’s Wondery has ended operations in Mexico and Brazil following a review of priorities. The closures affect key personnel and come amid show nominations for awards. In related news, new agencies and technologies are emerging in the podcast industry, along with a launch of awards recognizing comedic podcasting.

Amazon’s Wondery has officially ceased its operations in both Mexico and Brazil, as reported during a brief staff meeting earlier this week. This closure affects several employees, including Sarah Barrett, who was the Head of Mexico Podcast Content. Notably, the announcement coincides with the nomination of some of Wondery Mexico’s shows for the prestigious Ondas Globales awards, although the LATAM unit had maintained a successful YouTube page with over 500,000 subscribers.

Amazon conveyed to Podnews, “After a careful review of our priorities and customers’ needs, we’ve made the difficult decision to close Wondery’s Brazil and Mexico original content operations. This decision wasn’t made quickly or easily, and we remain committed to developing immersive storytelling and audio content for audiences.”

In a related development, the podcast industry has seen Christy Mirabal launch The Listening Party Agency in collaboration with Imelda Vergara-Skinder. This new marketing consultancy aims to enhance the visibility of podcast creators and operates out of New York and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Transistor has introduced podcast commenting features linked to the Bluesky social platform, allowing comments to sync between Bluesky accounts and Transistor podcasts.

On another note, Panjaya, founded by former Apple TV and Meta executives, has unveiled a multilingual AI-based dubbing platform tailored for podcast publishers. This innovative system not only preserves the authenticity of voice and gestures but supports 29 languages, acknowledging that an estimated 60% of Spotify’s podcast listeners are non-English speakers. Users can explore the tool with free trials for clips lasting one minute.

Additionally, Headliner has introduced a contest for template designs, offering promotion and free subscription opportunities to participants. Concluding the updates, the Golden Lobes, a new awards night spotlighting comedic podcasts, is currently accepting entries, with submissions closing on March 15. The event honors a range of humorous podcast content, promising various accolades and prizes for the winners, celebrated in London on May 7.

In summary, Amazon’s Wondery has regrettably shut down its operations in Mexico and Brazil amid consideration of shifting priorities. This coincided with notable achievements of some shows in the region. Other developments in the podcasting industry include the establishment of new marketing consultancies and technological advancements aimed at improving audience engagement. Furthermore, the launch of the Golden Lobes awards seeks to recognize excellence in comedic podcasting.

Original Source: podnews.net