MUMBAI: Deezer, the premier global digital music streaming service, today announced it is acquiring Stitcher, the leading provider of personalised Internet talk radio and award winning mobile products. The acquisition allows Deezer to become a truly global on-demand audio provider, offering consumers over 35 million music tracks and 35,000 radio shows and podcasts. Stitcher currently carries eight out of the top ten US terrestrial radio shows and features content from over 12,000 global content providers, including NPR, BBC, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, This American Life, CBS Radio News and others.

"Almost every music listener listens to some form of talk radio, whether it is news, entertainment or sports," said Deezer Founder Daniel Marhely. "We see the ability to deliver better talk streaming solutions in the same way that we are doing in music to super serve the needs of our global audience of 16 million users and growing. The acquisition of Stitcher helps us realise this opportunity."

Deezer will further expand its distribution into the automotive entertainment market where Stitcher is already enabled in more than 50 models, including BMW, Ford, General Motors, Jaguar and Mazda vehicles and was an Apple CarPlay and Android Auto launch partner.

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

Deezer will continue to support Stitcher’s award winning mobile products, where Stitcher has the number one rated podcast app on Android and the second most popular app on iOS behind iTunes.