“ARN’s iHeart was very late to the podcast race, our competitors were in there when we began just over four years ago – but when we began, we came out with a bang,” ARN head of digital audio, Corey Layton tells Mediaweek. The iHeart network has just celebrated its 50th straight Podcast Rankert as the nation’s top podcast publisher, and Layton said the team is “feeling great.”
“We have been the number one publisher from the day of launch to now, which shows our strength, and shows the incredible long-term partnerships that have worked to build. Australian listeners and brands are really leaning into the content that our team and partners are making.”
It’s an achievement that has been a long time in the making, and means more to ARN and its partners than just the celebrations on the day.
“It means stability,” said Layton. “We’re quite careful about who we partner with, when we partner with a podcast we want to be able to give it the full time and attention that it deserves, to grow that audience and to monetise it. We’re careful to not overstretch ourselves and not to have too many – we want to ensure that we can service everyone that we have accordingly.
“What this 50th moment showcases is how we’ve been able to help grow those shows that we have decided to work with us to where they are today, that’s given us this accolade.”
At the heart of what’s driving the success of iHeart’s shows is engagement, which Layton says is one of the major things the team work towards.
“This is a very, very long game, and we want to just keep pushing our podcasts to the front to ensure that Australians get to find them, the brands get to back them and that they stay with us for as long as possible. Today is really just another step in that story, albeit an important moment to slow down and celebrate.”
Podcasting – both in Australia and around the world – has been on a rapid upwards trajectory for years. If there was any concern that the momentum was running out, Layton quashes it by pointing out that “it’s absolutely the fastest growing mass media in the country, reaching over 10.9 million Australians every single month.”
“We are now at 48% of Australians listening to podcasts – 1.7 million more people are now listening to podcasts monthly in Australia than at the same time last year. That is phenomenal growth.
“The trend is growth. 48% of Australians are listening and 52% aren’t, and I look forward to more and more people finding this wonderful medium and adding it to their media diet.”
As for where the team are focussing their attention for the rest of the year, Layton said the next few months are all about continuing to grow iHeart, continuing to grow existing shows, and looking at new shows.
“We’ve just onboarded shows like Matty and Cooper Johns’ Backstage, we just finished our co-production Indigenous podcast network BlakCast, called Find and Tell, which was all about looking for the next generation of diverse storytellers. We are looking to continue to tell incredible stories and to launch really exciting, new, innovative shows that we think will capture Australia’s attention.”
–
Top image: Corey Layton