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Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is near a deal to buy E.W. Scripps Co.’s SSP, +1.44% Stitcher Inc. podcasting unit for around $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
The satellite-radio giant is working to expand into the rapidly growing podcasting industry, following similar moves by media and tech companies including Spotify Technology SA SPOT, -4.13% and iHeartMedia Inc. IHRT, -0.28%
Stitcher runs a free podcast listening app and a premium $4.99 monthly service that lets subscribers listen to podcasts without ads. It also owns podcast networks including Earwolf and Stitcher Podcasts, with 50 shows including “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” and “Freakonomics Radio.” In partnership with outside networks and shows, Stitcher distributes and sells advertising for more than 250 podcasts — including “My Favorite Murder,” “WTF With Mark Maron” and “Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations” — through its Midroll Media advertising unit.
Sirius SIRI, +0.51% generates most of its revenue from subscriptions to its satellite radio service but in 2018 agreed to buy internet-radio streaming company Pandora Media Inc. for $3 billion — adding a business more reliant on advertising and with podcast aspirations of its own to its lineup.
U.S. ad revenue from podcasts rose an estimated 42% to $678.7 million last year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, and is projected to rise to $863.4 million this year and exceed $1 billion by 2021.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com:
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