Oprah goes Prime: Amazon secures multi-year rights to talk show queen’s video podcasts

Amazon has landed talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and her video podcasts for its suite of streaming services.

“Long before the term ‘creator’ existed, Oprah was building a direct and deeply personal connection with audiences across generations — and that bond continues to grow. Creators are reshaping entertainment, and Oprah continues to pave the way. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with her on what’s ahead,” said Matt Sandler, general manager of Amazon Creator Services, in a statement.

The multi-year deal gives the tech giant distribution and advertising rights to “The Oprah Podcast” on audio and video. As part of the arrangement, Winfrey will expand her production to two new episodes per week starting this summer. The partnership also includes rights to the 25-year library of her former talk show and her “Oprah’s Book Club” and “Oprah’s Favorite Things” franchises.

The New York Times first reported the deal on Monday. The deal underscores how Amazon is betting on established names to anchor its creator strategy.

“This is the ultimate validation of where the world is going,” Steve Boom, an Amazon vice president, told the Times. “You have the most influential talk show host in history, by orders of magnitude, leaning heavily into this new world.”

Amazon purchased Wondery, a Los Angeles-based podcast studio known for producing several hit shows, in late 2020, aiming to strengthen its original audio offerings against competitors like Spotify. Last August, the company cut around 110 positions at Wondery as part of an effort to fold some of its operations into Audible and roll out its new Creator Services division.

“The podcast landscape has evolved significantly in the past few years, particularly with the rise of video-forward, creator-led content,” an Amazon spokesperson said in an August statement.

“By making these changes, we can better support creators in monetizing their content across multiple channels, help them expand their brand IP, and simplify the process for advertisers while making content more accessible to audiences wherever they prefer to consume it,” the company added.

The Winfrey deal is one of several high-profile moves in that effort. Another is the Kelce Clubhouse — a dedicated Amazon hub featuring brothers Jason and Travis Kelce, the football stars whose profiles soared after Travis’s engagement to Taylor Swift. The site brings together their video podcast, merchandise, a documentary about the duo, and promoted Audible content.

While Winfrey’s content will be available across Prime Video, Amazon Music, Fire TV Channels and Audible, her shows will also stream on YouTube and other podcast platforms.

“Expanding our reach globally is an opportunity I embrace, as we continue to connect through stories that invite new ways of seeing, and hopefully deepen, understanding,” Winfrey said in a statement.