Stitcher guardian shuts down podcasting app

Stitcher, a 15-year-old app that helped put podcasts on the map, is shutting down, the corporate mentioned Tuesday. It is the most recent casualty of an financial downturn that has swept the expertise and leisure sectors, together with the podcasting enterprise.

“The Stitcher app and web site will discontinue operations on August 29, 2023,” the corporate tweeted.

Father or mother firm SiriusXM mentioned it might proceed to supply Stitcher’s content material. “Subscribers can take heed to podcasts throughout the SiriusXM app and can see an all-new listening expertise later this 12 months,” it mentioned.

The app, which as soon as known as itself the No. 1 podcast app within the U.S., had greater than 14 tens of millions customers at its peak, based on TechCrunch. SiriuxXM, which purchased Stitcher in 2002 for $325 million, is closing the app in an effort to incorporate podcasts “into its flagship SiriusXM subscription enterprise,” the corporate mentioned on its web site.

The favored podcast app is the most recent tech participant wrestle because the financial system slows and media corporations shed jobs. Podcasts have not been immune. Main podcast studios Vox Media, Pushkin Studios and Spotify all introduced layoffs in January. This month, Spotify mentioned it might interact in a second spherical of layoffs in its podcast division. The streaming large additionally cancelled a dozen authentic podcasts and ended a high-profile podcasting take care of Prince Harry and Meghan that yielded just one podcast sequence.  

In March, SiriusXM minimize almost 500 jobs, or 8% of its workforce.

The promoting downturn can also be hitting information media. Earlier this 12 months, BuzzFeed Information and MTV Information shut down and Vice Information filed for chapter safety.