Spotify has cancelled Gimlet’s Heavyweight podcast and reportedly plans to lay off the team making it after the show’s current season wraps up.
Bloomberg reports another Gimlet show, Stolen, will also be cancelled once it finishes its current season.
In a statement to The Verge, Spotify spokesperson Rosa Oh said that the company was “extremely proud of the team who has supported these talented storytellers across each of the incredible episodes of Heavyweight” and that Spotify will “work with the show creator to ensure a smooth transition for wherever the series goes next.”
The news comes after Spotify said it would lay off 17 percent of its staff after years of big spending on podcasts and continued struggles to turn a profit.
The Verge detailed that Spotify acquired Gimlet in 2019 for $230 million (roughly $312 million CAD). After the purchase, Gimlet didn’t produce the kind of hit shows Spotify wanted and even lost one of its biggest shows, Reply All.
Spotify has since whittled down Gimlet’s programming and staff before folding it into Spotify Originals. Meanwhile, the company went on to pursue personality-driven chat shows like the Joe Rogan Experience.
It seems the shows may have the option to be shopped around elsewhere once the current seasons end, but it remains to be seen if either show will continue.
Source: The Verge
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