Report: SiriusXM to Buy Stitcher from Scripps for $300M
| RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, July 7, 2020 |
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 Stitcher |
SiriusXM is likely to acquire Stitcher, a podcast platform owned by E.W. Scripps, reports the Wall Street Journal's Anne Steele. The roughly $300 million deal is expected to be announced later this week. In addition to the Stitcher app, the company also comprised advertising arm Midroll Media and podcast network Earwolf, which were acquired in 2015.
The deal would follow SiriusXM's purchase of the podcast hosting and distribution firm Simplecast last month. The satcaster expanded into the streaming audio and podcast space in 2019 with the acquisition of Pandora, which allows podcasters to upload shows for distribution.
According the The Hollywood Reporter, Stitcher launched in 2008 to offer an alternative to Apple Podcasts. After being owned briefly by Deezer, Scripps acquired the company in 2016. Stitcher's app, which offers more than 100,000 titles, serves as an alternative to Spotify or Apple Podcasts Under Scripps' Stitcher's reported operating revenue of $17.1 million in the first quarter, up 13 percent from 2019.
