Spotify and Rdio competitor Deezer acquires Stitcher radio and podcast service

Deezer, the Paris-based company that competes with other music streaming services such as Spotify and Rdio, has just acquired Stitcher, the San Francisco-based company that aggregates talk radio shows and podcasts.

As reported by TechCrunch, Deezer plans to keep Stitcher’s website and apps (including Stitcher for iOS) as standalone products. But it does intend to integrate Stitcher’s audio content, which primarily consists of news and information programming, into its music streaming platform, initially as a free service called Talk.

Deezer also plans to take advantage of Stitcher’s popularity as an in-car audio entertainment service. Already available on the dashboards of a number of models from top automakers, Stitcher is also set to be integrated with Apple’s CarPlay, along with Spotify, Rdio, iHeartRadio, and other popular audio streaming services.

Deezer has been better known outside the U.S. since its launch in 2007. Its acquisition of Stitcher is likely to help it expand its presence in the increasingly competitive American market.

Deezer and Stitcher’s official iOS apps are available for free on the App Store.