Stitcher cleans up app, introduces redesign

Source: Stitcher

Stitcher has some catching up to do with services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Its new look might help with that. The podcast app revamps its web and mobile apps, promising better user control and navigation. The public beta for the redesigned app is out now, with plans to roll it out more broadly in the future.

You can now organize shows into custom categories and view recent and unfinished episodes, your downloads, and favourite podcasts in the My Podcasts section. With filters, you can opt to see episodes you've only downloaded, unplayed or liked episodes, or sort them by date. The app even lets you view podcasts by episode length.

Stitcher also brings the ability to download episodes from the shows you want automatically and pick how many you'll keep on your device at a given time. The app gets a slider control for playback speed. Stitcher also improved its Alexa and Sonos integrations t.

Source: Engadget

Deezer sells Stitcher to E.W. Scripps

Less than two years after Deezer bought podcast app Stitcher, the streaming music service is selling it off to media company E.W. Scripps for US$4.5 million. The Stitcher team will be joining Midroll Media, a podcast producer and advertising network. At the moment, Deezer says podcast content will be available on their platform. For how long, we can’t say. According to Scripps, Stitcher has 8.5 million registered users and is installed in 50 models of cars. The company didn’t say though how many active users the service has. Stitcher believes this acquisition will help both advertisers and content partners with “an expanded portfolio of opportunities” to help reach their target audience. We can’t say yet how they’d do that though.

Source: Engadget