Wondery

On that day, the founder of the Wondery podcast network and former head of Fox International Channels learned that he was about to be indicted by federal prosecutors in New York. He had been caught up in a long-running white collar corruption probe related to TV rights deals involving FIFA and other leagues and sports. He was accused of taking part in a bribery scheme to secure various sports rights for Fox outlets in the U.S. and abroad. Lopez has steadfastly maintained he did nothing wrong and was not aware of a bribery scheme that involved one of Fox’s joint venture partners.

Lopez also is facing a legal battle that has clouded his own future at the company he founded. He is among two former Fox TV executives charged with money laundering and wire fraud over alleged bribes involving broadcasting rights to the World Cup and other high profile soccer tournaments. Lopez has pleaded not guilty to the charges filed in March.

In April 2020, federal prosecutors had indicted Lopez along with another former 21st Century Fox executive, Carlos Martinez, alleging they were part of a conspiracy to pay millions of dollars annually to FIFA officials in South America between 2000-2015 in exchange for broadcasting rights to the Copa Libertadores club tournament as well as confidential bidding information for U.S. broadcast rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments. (A Brooklyn jury acquitted Martinez of the charges in 2023.)

About 110 people will lose their jobs because of the move, according to a person familiar with the plans. In addition, Wondery Chief Executive Officer Jen Sargent will exit the company, according to a memo to staff viewed by Bloomberg News. Existing Wondery series will either be moved under Amazon’s Audible banner or become part of the company’s new “creator services” team, which will become home to personality-driven shows, including Jason and Travis Kelce’s podcast. The Wondery brand will still exist on some of these creator services-run shows.

Amazon’s Wondery podcast studio is laying off workers.

In light of these learnings, we’ve decided the best and most efficient way to serve customers is by separating the teams that oversee Wondery’s narrative podcast efforts from those developing its creator-led shows, and by consolidating those divisions into other ATG businesses that have shared capabilities. These changes will not only better align our teams as they work to take advantage of the strategic opportunities ahead but, even more crucially, will ensure we have the right structure in place to deliver the very best experience to creators, customers and advertisers. Unfortunately, these changes also include some role reductions, and we have notified those employees this morning.

Nov. 10, 2026

Amazon is laying off roughly 110 employees in its Wondery podcast division and the head of the group is leaving as part of a broader reshuffling of the company’s audio unit.

On Aug. 4, Wondery, the podcasting company owned by Amazon, announced that it would move its narrative podcast slate, which includes Dr. Death, American Scandal and Business Wars, to Audible, Amazon’s audiobook and podcast service. Top creators who have video-focused podcasts, such as Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights, Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert and LeBron James’ Mind The Game will move to Amazon’s creator services team, where a team will work to further integrate the shows across Amazon and unlock bigger brand deals, with those titles still under the Wondery brand name.

Four years after Amazon's acquisition of podcast network Wondery, the tech giant is dismantling its $300 million purchase and reorganizing various audio properties into separate teams at the company. As first reported by Bloomberg, this reorg will see the studio lose about 110 employees, and CEO Jen Sargent is departing the company.

Amazon told TechCrunch that Wondery will continue to develop creator-led podcasts under the Wondery brand within a new team. What’s changing is that the company is separating the teams that oversee Wondery’s narrative podcast efforts from those developing its creator-led shows.

The complaint, filed in Los Angeles on Thursday on behalf of Lee’s TigerBelly company, alleges that Wondery was “under pressure to cut expenses and roll back its financial commitments” in anticipation of a podcast market slowdown in 2023, leading the company to terminate its 39-month deal with the TigerBelly podcast in early April.

"I see opportunities, because we're in the unique position of being able to give our talent, our creators, the widest possible audience," Lopez said.