Stitcher Sale To SiriusXM Done

• The E.W. Scripps Company has formally closed on its sale of Stitcher to SiriusXM for $325 million. At the time the deal was initially announced in mid-July, Scripps said that price equaled a return of more than double of Scripps’ investment in podcasting over the last five years. The sale price includes $265 million in cash upfront, with an earnout of up to $30 million based on 2020 financial results and paid in 2021 and an earnout of up to $30 million based on 2021 financial results and paid in 2022.

The Stitcher company includes the Midroll advertising rep firm; owned-and-operated podcast networks including the comedy-focused Earwolf; and the Stitcher podcast listening platform.

An early entrant into podcasting, Scripps acquired Midroll in 2015 for $55 million and the Stitcher app in 2016 for $4.5 million. Since then, Stitcher has been a leader in the fast-growing podcast industry, growing revenue at a CAGR of 52% from 2016-19. Stitcher’s 2019 revenue was $72.5 million. LionTree Advisors acted as exclusive advisor to Scripps in the Stitcher sale process, and BakerHostetler served as legal counsel.

• Scripps continues to capitalize on its leadership in the national television marketplace. The company recently announced its plans to create a full-scale national television networks business through the acquisition of ION Media, which it will combine with the Katz networks and Newsy. The ION acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, pending regulatory approval.