They've only just started out so why would they be a major player?
Because the production deals that landed in their lap are absolutely not the kind of deals given to someone who is a total novice in producing.
They could have started out with baby steps, but I don’t think they wanted to start at the bottom and work their way up, building a track record as they did so. Unfortunately if you come in straight at the top echelon, the expectations are correspondingly high, and so is the risk if it doesn’t work out.
Spotify is a good example of this - lots of money given to produce one podcast series (28 people were credited on Archetypes - that’s a lot of salaries to pay considering some of the most popular podcasts involve just 3 or 4 people). It had a huge advertising budget. Huge billboards in major cities across the US. And when it didn’t do well enough - the deal is pulled and they get called “F-ing grifters” by the senior management. Harsh - but those are the waters they want to swim in.