Washington (AFP)

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it had signed an agreement to buy the independent podcast platform Wondery, without revealing the terms, an additional movement in a sector in full consolidation, and which strengthens the offer of the audio platform of the giant of online commerce .

Wondery, which produces the podcasts "Dirty John" - which tells the real life of a criminal con artist and has been adapted on Netflix - but also "Dr. Death" and "Death of a Starlet", will be integrated into Amazon Music, which wants to compete with its competitors like Spotify and this year started offering podcasts in addition to music.

“Together with Wondery, we will continue to attract more customers to streaming as we expand our selection and ensure that our customers find, discover and listen to the creators and artists they love,” said the Amazon music team in a blog post.

“Wondery is an innovative podcast publisher with a proven track record in creating and producing top-notch podcasts that entertain and educate listeners,” they added.

The amount of the buyback was not disclosed, but according to articles published earlier this month Wondery was asking for $ 300 million.

The deal, which has yet to be finalized, will allow Amazon Music subscribers to listen to Wondery podcasts through various providers, Amazon said in a statement.

The announcement comes as Amazon faces increased scrutiny from antitrust authorities for its growing dominance over key sectors of the economy as it expands into retail and streaming.

Founded in 2016, Wondery was ranked fourth podcast publisher in the United States in November by the Podtrac site, with just over 9 million listeners.

It is the last major independent podcast platform in the United States, the sector having seen many acquisitions in recent months.

In July, the US online radio giant SiriusXM bought the podcast platform Stitcher for a record amount of $ 325 million.

Spotify, now the world market leader, bought Gimlet in early 2019 for $ 230 million and The Ringer in February for $ 141 to $ 195 million.

© 2020 AFP