SiriusXM to buy podcast business of Scripps for up to US$325m

[BENGALURU] Sirius XM Holdings said on Monday it will buy EW Scripps' podcast business, Stitcher, for up to US$325 million, as the US satellite radio company pushes further into the podcast space.

Stitcher streams popular podcasts such as Freakonomics Radio, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend and My Favorite Murder and will help SiriusXM better compete with the podcast libraries of Apple and Spotify Technology.

Last year, SiriusXM signed a multi-year deal with Walt Disney, allowing it to create exclusive weekly podcasts including five new series on popular Marvel characters such as Wolverine, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Star-Lord.

SiriusXM, which bought online music service Pandora Media in a US$3.5 billion deal in 2018 to compete with streaming giants such as Spotify, has been investing to bolster its podcast business.

Under terms of the deal, SiriusXM will pay US$265 million in cash to Scripps, followed by US$60 million in additional contingent payments based on Stitcher achieving certain financial metrics in 2020 and 2021.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, the company said. 

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REUTERS