SiriusXM shuts down Stitcher podcast app amid industry consolidation
Satellite radio giant SiriusXM will shut down its Stitcher podcast app and subscription service, amid a broader retreat for the once white-hot sector.
The company on Tuesday said that it would end the service on Aug. 29 in an effort to drive more users to its own app and put all its content in one place. The podcasts Stitcher provided will remain available on other platforms and on the SiriusXM app.
“The scale and reach of our widely distributed podcasts has been and remains a crucial accelerant for our advertising sales business, while incorporating podcasts more holistically into our flagship SiriusXM subscription service will help to drive further growth,” SiriusXM executives Joe Inzerillo, John Trimble and Scott Greenstein wrote in an internal memo.
The acquisition will give SiriusXM, the home for programs like “The Howard Stern Show,” a greater foothold in the fast-growing podcasting sector.
Stitcher said on its website that it would still operate its Stitcher Studios and Earwolf networks to make podcasts. There are no layoffs expected, according to a person familiar with the matter who declined to be named.
Stitcher’s subscription service cost $4.99 a month. Its app and website had a combined 900,000 unique visitors, according to Comscore.
SiriusXM purchased Stitcher in 2020 for up to $325 million, one of the largest podcast deals at a time when the industry was on the rise. Companies beefed up their podcasting efforts as the industry experienced a boom in multimillion-dollar pacts with influencers, newsmakers and independent studios.
Lately, companies have applied more caution to those kinds of deals. Most recently, for example, Spotify’s podcast production deal with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s company, Archewell Audio, came to an end.
Ryan Murphy is moving his deal from Netflix to Disney amid changes in the way Hollywood approaches deals with top producers.
Spotify recently laid off 200 people, including many staffers in its podcasting division, amid a broader restructuring, which included the consolidation of Gimlet and Parcast, two audio production companies it acquired.
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