Business News Deals Digital

Deezer acquires Stitcher

By | Published on Monday 27 October 2014

Deezer

Deezer announced on Friday that it had acquired US-based podcast app Stitcher in a deal that will bring a big library of radio-style content into the streaming music platform.

Stitcher is sort of a Pandora for podcasts, helping users navigate content from podcast makers large and small via a proprietary app which has probably been most prolifically used through in-car systems. The alliance will see Deezer also step up its partnerships with in-car digital entertainment platforms.

Confirming the deal, Deezer founder Daniel Marhely said: “Almost every music listener listens to some form of talk radio, whether it is news, entertainment or sports. We see the ability to deliver better talk streaming solutions, in the same way that we are doing in music, [as a way] to super serve the needs of our global audience of sixteen million users and growing. The acquisition of Stitcher helps us realise this opportunity”.

Meanwhile Stitcher CEO Noah Shanok said: “Deezer has become a market leader by meeting the different needs of music consumers around the world. We look forward to continuing to evolve our offerings and delivering the most complete and best digital audio experience for listeners everywhere”.

Bringing a big batch of radio-style and speech-based content into the Deezer ecosystem is an interesting move as the various big players in streaming music compete for market share.

Most of the content available via Stitcher is accessible through other podcasting or radio channels, and other streaming services could likely access said audio if they so wished. Though, by acquiring Stitcher, Deezer gets a significant batch of constantly updating content in one go, as well as access to users for whom such audio is as, if not more, attractive than straight streaming music.



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