SiriusXM to Buy Stitcher Podcasting Unit From Scripps -- 2nd Update
July 06 2020 - 7:26PM
Dow Jones News
By Anne Steele
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is near a deal to buy E.W. Scripps Co.'s
Stitcher Inc. podcasting unit for around $300 million, according to
people familiar with the matter.
The satellite-radio giant is working to expand into the rapidly
growing podcasting industry, following similar moves by media and
tech companies including Spotify Technology SA and iHeartMedia
Inc.
Stitcher runs a free podcast listening app and a premium $4.99
monthly service that lets subscribers listen to podcasts without
ads. It also owns podcast networks including Earwolf and Stitcher
Podcasts, with 50 shows including "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend"
and "Freakonomics Radio." In partnership with outside networks and
shows, Stitcher distributes and sells advertising for more than 250
podcasts -- including "My Favorite Murder," "WTF With Mark Maron"
and "Oprah's SuperSoul Conversations" -- through its Midroll Media
advertising unit.
Sirius generates most of its revenue from subscriptions to its
satellite radio service but in 2018 agreed to buy internet-radio
streaming company Pandora Media Inc. for $3 billion -- adding a
business more reliant on advertising and with podcast aspirations
of its own to its lineup.
Last year Sirius signaled its intent to expand its podcast
business with a deal in which Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel
Entertainment is creating exclusive podcasts for the company's
satellite radio and streaming services.
U.S. ad revenue from podcasts rose an estimated 42% to $678.7
million last year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau,
and is projected to rise to $863.4 million this year and exceed $1
billion by 2021.
Scripps bought Stitcher in 2016 for $4.5 million in cash and
then combined it with Midroll Media, the podcast-advertising
company it had acquired the year before for $50 million.
Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 06, 2020 19:11 ET (23:11 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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