Advertisement

Amazon buys rights to popular true-crime podcast 'My Favorite Murder'

Amazon will have a one-week exclusive for new episodes.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly

Amazon is once again racing to buy the rights to major podcasts and the networks that share them. According to Bloomberg, Amazon is buying exclusive distribution and ad rights for the popular true crime series "My Favorite Murder" and other podcasts from Exactly Right Media. Amazon Music and Wondery will offer episodes a week before they're available anywhere else, and Amazon will have sole rights to sell ads. The paid Wondery+ service will offer shows ad-free.

The company didn't reveal the terms of the deal. When Amazon bought the celebrity SmartLess podcast, it paid $80 million for a three-year deal that also included one-week exclusives.

The arrangement comes as Amazon races to compete with Spotify and other tech giants snapping up major podcasts. While the "My Favorite Murder" deal isn't a full exclusive, the goal is the same: Amazon wants to spur use of its services, and ideally add some paying customers. Whatever the company spends now might be worthwhile if it persuades you to switch apps and bring in years of ad or subscription money.