It was no secret that Scripps has been trying to unload its podcasting division so it could focus on Television. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sirius XM will purchase Stitcher from Scripps for $300 million. SiriusXM is in an audio battle for ears with Spotify and the radio industry, all are platforms making a major push in the podcasting space.
In June, the Satellite company purchased hosting and distribution company Simplecast. and has owned Pandora since 2019.
Stitcher brought in $17.1 million in revenue for Scripps in Q1, an increase of 13 percent from 2019. Stitcher launched in 2008 and Scripps bought it in 2016. Stitcher is led by CEO Erik Diehn, who joined the company when Scripps purchased Midroll.
Stitcher’s podcasts include “Freakonomics Radio,” “How Did This Get Made?”, “SuperSoul Sunday” from the Oprah Winfrey Network, “Office Ladies,” “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” “Literally! with Rob Lowe,” “LeVar Burton Reads,” “Comedy Bang! Bang!”, and “WTF with Marc Maron.”
