SiriusXM has introduced it is going to shut down its podcast app Stitcher in favor of its personal. Right here’s the most recent.
Through the top of the pandemic, SiriusXM acquired the Stitcher podcast app for $325 million in July 2020. Stitcher offered a one-stop-shop for early gamers within the podcasting scene. It operated Midroll Media community for podcast promoting and it ran a number of content material networks via Earwolf. Whereas the Stitcher app is shutting down, the podcasts will stay accessible on the SiriusXM app now.
Present Stitcher customers will get a free trial for six months of the SiriusXM service. Whereas the consolidation comes with no layoffs, I’m not so positive individuals might be pleased with the change. The Stitcher app was designed to be a ‘podcast first’ expertise, which is more and more disappearing as Spotify dominates the podcast panorama. SiriusXM says it is going to revamp its personal app later this 12 months to extend usability. Spotify’s personal redesign hasn’t performed too nicely with hardcore music listeners.
The autoplay upon app open in Spotify has upset many, as Spotify makes an attempt to imitate TikTok’s discovery feed. “There was already a litany of frustrations that by no means get addressed of their sh*tty UX however switching to an annoying TikTok structure is really surreal,” reads one remark about Spotify’s latest redesign. “What’s worse is you possibly can’t even flip off the autoplay within the settings,” reads a reply to that remark.
Whether or not SiriusXM might be committing to the TikTokification of its app stays to be seen. Shutting down the Stitcher app and specializing in the well-known model might payoff for its older-skewing listeners. The Stitcher app and web site will cease engaged on August 29, 2023. At its peak, the app had 14 million customers, so it’s gone nowhere however downhill since its acquisition in 2020.
Podcasting studios from Spotify, Vox Media, and Pushkin Studios all introduced layoffs in January 2023. SiriusXM minimize 8% of its workforce, or round 500 jobs in March 2023 because the fervor round podcasting has cooled.