Amazon is investing in podcasts and other audio programming to expand the types of shows it offers via the Audible book company it acquired in 2008.
The company has hired comedians as well as radio and podcast producers to expand the service.
Amazon’s films and television shows have boosted the appeal of its $99-a-year Prime service, which includes delivery discounts, as well as video and music streaming.
“Amazon is doing to Audible what it’s done to Prime Video — investing in original programming,” Nick Quah, an executive at the Graham Holdings Co.’s Panoply podcast network who also writes a newsletter about the industry, tells Bloomberg News.
The company declined comment on the types of programming its working on.
Former NPR exec Eric Nuzum is overseeing development and production of original programming for Audible, which sells products individually, along with monthly subscriptions that include access to some titles, reinforcing Amazon’s online engagement, according to Bloomberg
The company plans to host a career fair in Newark, N.J. this week.
