Acquisitions & Partnerships

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SiriusXM closes Stitcher: 150M addressable audience, new lines of reporting, Pandora gets more podcasts

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Brad Hill

SiriusXM has closed its acquisition of Stitcher, three months after the July announcement that the satellite giant would buy the pioneering podcast company. Stitcher joins Pandora as a wholly-owned Sirius company. SiriusXM also has an exclusive ad sales partnership with Soundcloud. Today’s announcement puts the combined audience at 150-million listeners, and calls that reach “the largest addressable audience in North America across all categories of digital audio – music, sports, talk, and podcasts.” Continue Reading →

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Religion of Sports partners with PRX for distribution, monetization, and production

Posted on October 7, 2020 by Brad Hill

Media company Religion of Sports is affiliating with PRX to expand its podcast activity in 2021. PRX is announcing the multi-faceted collaboration today. Religion of Sports was founded by creator Gotham Chopra, six-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady, and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan. To date it has mainly been known for this video content. The idea here is to push deeper into podcasting next year. Continue Reading →

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Rumor Fact(ory): Wondery for sale

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Brad Hill

Bloomberg is reporting that podcast network Wondery is for sale, hopin to attract a buyer in the $200-400-billion range. This according to unidentified sources for the Bloomberg report. According to those sources, Wondery revenue will surpass $40-million this year. Continue Reading →

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Libsyn partners with Player FM for greater exposure for hosted podcasts

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Brad Hill

Podcast hosting giant Libsyn is announcing a new partnership with Player FM, a podcast listening app and discovery engine. The deal is effective immediately, and Libsyn’s clients can distribute their shows to Player FM starting now. Libsyn’s research indicates that Player FM is a top-10 3rd-party aggregation app by number of downloads. Continue Reading →

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Chartable raises $2.25-million for $3.75M total venture investment

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Brad Hill

Podcast measurement and attribution company Chartable has completed a $2.25M fundraising round led by Initialized Capital. Chartable joins over 120 companies in the Initialized Capital portfolio, which includes Reddit, Patreon, and Instacart. Continue Reading →

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Wonder Media Network signs with WME for exclusive repping and diversification

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Brad Hill

Wonder Media Network, the podcast content company whose mission is to amplify underrepresented voices, has signed with WME (the talent agency part of the broader Endeavor company). WME will exclusively represent WMN, and help the young network diversify into books, TV, and other categories. Continue Reading →

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iHeartRadio joins with Will Ferrell for new podcast comedy network

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Brad Hill

Comedian and media producer Will Ferrell is partnering with iHeartRadio to make a new podcast network with an opening slate of six shows. “The iHeartPodcast Network really knows how to make a podcast.” said Ferrell. The new group is called Big Money Players Network. Click through for show notes. Continue Reading →

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NY Times acquires Serial Productions; $25M; podcast land rush continues

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Brad Hill

The New York Times has acquired Serial Productions, home to legendary podcast Serial. Both organizations have attained critical, audience, and monetary success with sparse portfolios. the Times promises to grow the Serial Productions catalog, which currently contains two active podcasts according to Podtrac. Click through for more analysis and acquisition details. Continue Reading →

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PRX develops partnerships for new podcasts based on women’s suffrage

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Brad Hill

PRX is partnering with the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission (created by Congress) and the National Park Service, and a cast of celebrities, to create new podcasts inspired by the suffragists throughout U.S. history who have worked to secure women’s right to vote. PRX notes that 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. Click through for show details. Continue Reading →

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Scripps sells Stitcher to SiriusXM: Confirmed by both companies

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Brad Hill

What was previously a Rumor Fact(ory) item is today finalized and confirmed: SiriusXM is buying Stitcher from Scripps. We received press releases from both SiriusXM (via the PR office of subsidiary Pandora) and E.W.Scripps. From Scripps, the news is about that company’s profitable investment in Stitcher over five years. for sirius, the vision gets big, fast, and the company isn’t shy about claiming preeminence in podcasting. Continue Reading →

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PRX picks up “Latino USA” for distribution

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Brad Hill

We received a note from PRX with the news that the audio network has scored distribution rights for Latino USA, a national news and cultural affairs program, for release to 220 public radio stations across the U.S. The Latino USA podcast (see it HERE) will join PRX’s portfolio of on-demand audio. The program is anchored by journalist and Futuro Media Group founder Maria Hinojosa. Continue Reading →

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Rumor Fact(ory): Scripps shopping Stitcher

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Brad Hill

E.W.Scripps, the media behemoth and parent company of Stitcher, is reported to be shopping the podcast company to potential buyers. Click through for a history of Scripps ownership, and how the Stitcher organization has changed during this time. Continue Reading →