SiriusXM to Shut Down Stitcher App in Revamp of Its Podcast Business

SiriusXM is shutting down its Stitcher podcast app and will migrate Stitcher users to the SiriusXM app, the company announced Tuesday (June 27). There are no layoffs associated with the app shutdown as Stitcher employees have been integrated into other parts of the company.

Stitcher will turn off automatic renewals for its Premium subscribers today. The free Stitcher app will be available until August 29. 

In shutting down Stitcher, which the company acquired in 2020 for $265 million, SiriusXM is focused on using its podcasts to expand the scale of its advertising business and draw new subscribers to the SiriusXM service. Stitcher Studios, Earwolf, Team Coco and SXM Podcasts will continue to create and distribute content to other platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeart.

“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,” according to an internal memo from chief product & tech officer Joe Inzerillo, chief ad revenue officer John Trimble and chief content officer Scott Greenstein.

“With the Stitcher team now fully integrated into SiriusXM, we have united our strengths to create the SiriusXM Podcast Network, one of the largest podcast advertising networks in the country,” the memo continues. “We are also helping new and existing partners to do more within podcasts, taking what Midroll did exceptionally well and supercharging it with the combined power of SXM Media and AdsWizz.”

In March, SiriusXM hired Team Coco president Andy Sachs as senior vp in charge of podcast, comedy and entertainment programming. That reorganization allows SiriusXM “to give legendary podcasters a new platform on SiriusXM while also introducing the biggest stars on our roster to podcasting,” the memo adds.

Following the news, shares of SiriusXM rose as much as 10.5% to $4.32, its highest mark since reaching $4.33 on March 6. As of Monday’s closing price of $3.91, SiriusXM’s share price had fallen 33% year to date. In February, the company warned it expects a “softer” first half of 2023 in terms of revenue and subscriber growth and “modestly negative self-pay net adds” in 2023. In March, it announced it would lay off about 8% of its workforce in a step “to secure the long-term health and profitability of our business,” said CEO Jennifer Fitz at the time. 

Following a few years of heavy investment in the nascent podcasting format, other companies have also reshaped their podcasting businesses in recent months. Earlier in June, Spotify laid off about 200 people from its podcast division, integrated its various podcast brands and abandoned some high-priced signings, namely its content deal with Archwell, the production company of Prince Harry and Megan Markle. And in March, NPR cut 10% of its staff and ceased production of a handful of podcasts.