Sony Group has made another round of layoffs in its podcast sector, marking its third set of cuts in less than two years. The latest layoffs included the cancellation of High Low with EmRata, a podcast hosted by model and author Emily Ratajkowski.
The show, which premiered last year, consisted of three episodes released weekly. While it managed to garner international attention, it fell short in attracting US-focused advertisers, leading to its discontinuation. Ratajkowski is reportedly seeking a new platform for her podcast, but no comments have been made by Sony about the program. Sony’s layoffs this week involve a “significant percentage of the division,” although no specific numbers were provided.
This move comes as part of a broader industry trend, with other companies like Spotify Technology SA also cutting back on their podcast units. Sony plans to continue restructuring its podcast division, concentrating on a select number of shows and its subscription business.
“Like many in the industry, we are further streamlining our structure as we continue to shift our creative strategy and focus on building big audiences across a select group of ongoing shows and our subscription business,” a Sony spokesperson told Bloomberg.
