Benzinga | Jun 16, 2021 01:46PM EDT

Sony Intensifies Podcast War By Acquiring Somethin' Else: FT

* Sony Group Corp's (NYSE:SONY) Sony Music Entertainment has acquired Somethin' Else, U.K.'s independent audio program producer, to tap the growing podcast market, the Financial Times reported.

* The financial terms of the transaction remain undisclosed.

* Somethin' Else's CEO Jez Nelson and chief content officer Steve Ackerman will become co-heads of global podcasts for Sony. Nelson will run the U.K. business unit, and Ackerman will lead the U.S. business unit.

* Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) had acquired Wondery in December. 2020. Several acquisitions followed suit.

* Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) snapped Ringer and Megaphone, while the New York Times Co (NYSE:NYT) acquired Serial. Sirius XM Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SIRI) acquired Stitcher.

* eMarketer estimates $1 billion in advertising spending in podcasts for 2021.

* Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) just launched a podcast subscription service. Spotify also trialed with podcasters' subscriptions.

* Nelson, Sonita Alleyne, and Chris Phillips founded Somethin' Else in the early 1990s. The company gradually evolved from radio into television, podcasting, and social media content for brands and events.

* Somethin' Else's holding group reported a loss of ?197,000 in the FY20 and net assets of ?752,000. The company does not report its revenue. The company had raised ?142,000 of new capital.

* Sony has spent over $3.5 billion in the past two years under CEO Kenichiro Yoshida to accumulate video and audio content for its entertainment business, which generated over half of its profits.

* Price action: SONY shares closed lower by 1.72% at $97.35 on Tuesday.