Stitcher, the popular podcast service founded in 2007 in San Francisco, is scheduled to shut down its app and web listening platforms on Aug. 29.
The company hasn’t called its own shots for years — Stitcher has bounced around between parent companies since its first sale in 2014 — but current owner SiriusXM’s move to shutter the audio pioneer’s listening platforms is another sign of the industry’s consolidation. SiriusXM executives announced the closure in a memo Tuesday.
The audio corporation known for its satellite radio stations is shutting down Stitcher in an attempt to get customers over to its flagship subscription service. Stitcher’s premium subscriptions (which offered exclusive episodes and ad-free listening) are no longer available, but the company will keep making podcasts through Stitcher Studios and Earwolf. The company’s listening platforms had a combined 900,000 users as of March 2023, Bloomberg reported. Much of Stitcher’s workforce is now based in New York and Los Angeles, according to LinkedIn, but SiriusXM has an office in Oakland.
Stitcher merged with advertising network Midroll and audio studio Earwolf after publishing giant E.W. Scripps bought Stitcher in 2016. The studios now boast popular podcasts like “99% Invisible,” “Podcrushed” and “Office Ladies,” which will still be available outside SiriusXM.
The executive memo reviewed by SFGATE praised Stitcher’s employees, who were integrated into SiriusXM after the corporation picked up the company for $325 million in 2020, and was signed by the firm’s chief product and tech officer Joe Inzerillo, chief advertising revenue officer John Trimble and chief content officer Scott Greenstein.
“One of the original destinations for podcasters and podcast fans, Stitcher’s business evolved with the industry as podcasting went from being a niche format to a billion-dollar juggernaut,” the trio wrote.
The podcast industry has seen lavish spending from the likes of Spotify, SiriusXM and iHeartMedia in recent years, as companies built up rosters of original, sometimes exclusive content (like Prince Harry and Meghan’s “Archetypes”). Most podcasts are free to access and paid for by embedded advertisements. But SiriusXM is subscription-only, and the company is hoping that Stitcher’s paying customers will make the shift — Bloomberg reported that premium Stitcher users are being offered six free months of SiriusXM streaming.
The three executives said they “are taking inspiration and learnings from the Stitcher app to drive improved podcast listening for our subscribers, with the goal of making SiriusXM a competitive and credible listening platform for talk and podcast content from across the company.”
This breaking news story has been updated.
Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at stephen.council@sfgate.com or on Signal at 628-204-5452.
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