Stitcher was a media company that specialized in the creation, distribution, and monetization of podcasts.[1] Stitcher created original shows through networks such as Earwolf and Witness Docs. Stitcher provided ad sales and distribution services to 300+ shows. Stitcher was home to one of the largest podcast listening apps. In July 2020, it was acquired by SiriusXM. The acquisition was finalized by 19 October 2020.
Stitcher was founded in 2008 by Noah Shanok, Mike Ghaffary, and Peter deVroede.[2] The company began with just its listening app, entitled "Stitcher", and was venture-backed until 2014 when the company was acquired by Deezer.[3] In 2016, Deezer sold Stitcher for $4.5 million to Midroll Media, a digital media company founded in 2012 which had been acquired by E.W. Scripps Company in 2015.[4][5][6] In 2017, Midroll Media underwent a rebranding, making Stitcher the parent company to Midroll Media and Earwolf, another entity under the E.W. Scripps network.[7]
In July 2020, Sirius XM acquired the Stitcher company for $325 million.[8] Following the acquisition, Sirius XM integrated Stitcher's exclusive podcasts into its additional music and podcast listening service, Pandora. At the peak of its popularity, Stitcher was reported to have nearly 14.5 million weekly users.[9][10]
In June 2023, Stitcher announced that the podcast service would be discontinued on August 29, 2023, as the parent company, SiriusXM, wanted to focus on incorporating podcasts into the flagship SiriusXM subscription. The production side of the company, Stitcher Studios and Earwolf, are expected to continue.[11]
Users could listen to and download podcasts through Stitcher's mobile apps on iOSorAndroid, as well as through dedicated hardware integrations such as Sonos, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, or through a web browser. Stitcher also offered Stitcher Premium, a subscription service that allowed listeners to access exclusive ad-free podcasts, which was announced at the end of 2016 and went live early 2017.[12]
Stitcher operated three original content networks with over fifty shows from Earwolf (home to shows like Comedy Bang! Bang!, Office Ladies, How Did This Get Made?), Witness Docs (Unfinished: Deep South, The Dream, Verified), and Stitcher Originals (The Sporkful, By The Book, Science Rules!).[13]
Stitcher's revenue has been reported to increase 42% year over year, with its 2019 revenue reaching $73 million.[14] Prior versions of the app have been recognized as one of the best podcast apps for both Android and iOS.[15]
