Compiled by Tess Connery and Grace Gollasch
Ewan Giles: The ins and out of Footy Talk – no matter the code
In February, LiSTNR added to its slate of sports podcasts by launching Footy Talk – Rugby League Podcast, a daily source for all things rugby league – from every tackle to try and everything in between. Following the success of the NRL version, LiSTNR then followed up with Footy Talk – Australian Rules Podcast for AFL lovers on March 1st.
Podcast Week’s Tess Connery spoke to SCA head of sports content, Ewan Giles about launching the two new podcasts.
With the NRL version of Footy Talk getting a head start on the AFL version, Giles says that the response to the Rugby League Podcast has been “phenomenal.”
“In terms of starting a podcast from the start, you start with zero audience, there’s no lead in programming, there’s no incumbency. It’s a very, very tough thing to launch. We’ve been super impressed with how the NRL version of Footy Talk has performed in the first weeks it’s, it’s definitely exceeded our expectations.”
In big news for the AFL version of Footy Talk, SCA recently announced that St Kilda superstar Nick Riewoldt would be joining as one of the rotating hosts of the podcast.
“Nick Riewoldt has been a part of the Triple M, SCA, Austereo sporting family for close to 20 years,” says Giles. “His first work with our business was on a now defunct show on the first iteration of Fox Footy that was simulcast on Triple M – it was called The Gospel.
“We’ve been in discussions with Nick ever since he said he was going to be moving over to the states with his family, and it was all about trying to find the right opportunity for him to still participate in our product. It’s just a real privilege that out of everything that he could be doing with his time whilst he’s over in the States. he’s choosing to spend some of it working with us. We’re very, very grateful to have him on board this year.”
Ewan Giles
In joining the SCA suite of sporting content, Giles says that Footy Talk is not being approached as a solo product, but rather as part of the overall offering – which includes Triple M.
“Triple M in the southern states has been covering AFL for over 25 years, Triple M in the northern states has been covering NRL for more than 15 years. We’re not looking to cannibalise that audience, we’re looking to grow a new audience by leveraging the suite of talents and IP that we have in producing sports content.
“Footy Talk, ideally, is going to skew a bit younger than our on air product, and will also not have that brand expectation of being a Triple M branded products. We’re really keen to try and plan a slightly different space with Footy Talk.”
SCA and LiSTNR hold long term rights agreements for the three major broadcast sports in Australia – AFL, NRL, and cricket. Outside of Footy Talk, Giles says that the team have been busy over the Summer months producing cricket content.
“Looking back at the season just gone, I know there was some talk publicly that maybe the calibre of cricket played over the summer wasn’t as good as what it could have been – but certainly, we saw nothing in terms of a consumption or a revenue point of view to suggest there was any negative impact on consumers enjoying our product.
“We’re lucky in a way that our product, because of its audio nature, is kind of a companion to you doing something else, it’s not your sole focus. A lot of people weren’t necessarily going to turn their life upside down to watch some of the cricket over the summer, but the fact that they could be doing something else whilst enjoying our product in the background is really, really important.
“It gives us a lot of time to play to our strengths, which are great narratives, great storytelling, and integrating clients in a really compelling manner. That’s what I think is the strength of our product.”
[Listen to Footy Talk – Rugby League and Footy Talk – Australian Rules]
Spotify introduces raft of new changes with Stream On
Spotify has introduced a number of new changes, including a new user interface and an AI DJ feature that understands a user’s music taste to create a personalised song list.
There are a number of new features that will roll out, including New Home Feed, which allows users to scroll purposefully through visual feeds for Music, Podcasts or Audiobooks to sample audio before diving in. Feeds within Search allows users to scroll up or down to explore short Canvas clips from tracks from some of their favourite genres.
In addition, an enhanced smart shuffle feature and a podcast autoplay feature will be introduced to the app.
These announcements follow the recent Beta launch of DJ, a new personalized AI guide that knows you and your music taste so well that it can choose what to play for you.
The Social Media Coach launches new podcast to demystify social media marketing
The Social Media Coach has announced the release of a new podcast series designed to shed light on the intricate world of social media marketing. The series is aimed at offering a first-of-its-kind look into key case-studies and trends shaping the social media landscape.
Each episode will feature a conversation with a leading industry expert, along with personalised advice from Social Media Coach founder Emily Rose Hills, to deliver businesses of all sizes invaluable insights and learnings to help take their social media game to the next level.
Emily-Rose Hills is a social media expert with a decade of experience working with world-renowned brands such as THE ICONIC, NRL, Finder, EA Games & Samsung.
Hills said, ”There’s so much bullshit information out there when it comes to social media, and that’s why I’m passionate about sharing stories from those who have actually built and managed social media communities.”
[Listen to The Social Media Coach here]
Podshape releases Positive Kid Vibes for kids’ mental health
Podshape has released a new podcast that aims to help kids with their daily struggles.
In Positive Kids Vibes, holistic counsellor Tracy Malone will deliver a positive affirmation or idea that parents can listen to with their kids in the car, before bed or when they’re going through a tough time.
The daily podcast is aimed at children aged 5-11 as well as parents. The podcast is also aimed at teachers to help motivate and inspire their students.
Katie Mattin, Podshape co founder said: ‘We are super passionate about bringing positive vibes to our Aussie kids and when looking for a host Tracy Malone was the perfect choice. As a big fan of her holistic counselling work, I’m excited to see where this podcast goes.’
[Listen to Positive Kid Vibes here]
Rebranding and expanding: Flipping the switch on the launch of SBS Audio
This month, SBS flipped the switch and went live with a rebrand of its audio offering for multilingual audiences, officially transitioning from SBS Radio to SBS Audio.
Coinciding with the SBS Audio launch is key changes to SBS’s audio language services – with the introduction of Bislama, Malay, Oromo, and Tetum programming. SBS has also recommitted to servicing Telugu and growing its Punjabi and Nepali teams, as well as commissioning content in Indigenous languages to aid language preservation, and investing in Auslan accessible content.
With so much change happening, Mediaweek spoke to SBS director of audio and language content, David Hua, about the launch and what it means for both listeners and brands.
“Our mission at SBS is to provide services for multicultural and multilingual Australians. Those goals change – we’re evolving as a society, and we absolutely want to provide our audiences with a sense of belonging to help build social cohesion. The community is evolving, Mandarin and Arabic speakers are growing in numbers, people from South Asia are growing in numbers, and there are changes to the profile of need amongst the community.
“We want the services to be fair, essentially. So we’ve gone through the rigorous task of going through a lot of statistics from the census and going through research to try and shape the language and the outputs that we actually have.”
Chart toppers! Kyle and Jackie O take top spot on February Podcast Ranker
Sydney’s long-running #1 FM breakfast show Kyle and Jackie O is no stranger to ratings success. Today the podcast of the hit radio show has topped the Podcast Ranker chart.
The Kyle and Jackie O Show podcast is not only the #1 Australian podcast, it is the #1 overall for the month of February 2023, as the hosts unseat the popular Casefile True Crime from overall top spot.
Having maintained their position as the #1 catch-up podcast since the start of the podcast ranker, this is the first time The Kyle & Jackie O Show has taken out the top spot overall.
The February Podcast Ranker also sees celebrity and pop culture podcast Shameless and independent news title Squiz Today both debuting in the top 10 of the Ranker released by Triton Digital.
[Find the Podcast Ranker here]
LiSTNR welcomes the Ben and Harry podcast
LiSTNR has welcomed the Ben and Harry Podcast, the new and original show featuring identical twins and AFL players Ben and Harry McKay.
The boys have incredibly never met on the footy field, but that doesn’t stop current Aussie rules footy young guns from going head-to-head behind the microphone in LiSTNR’s latest original podcast release.
Ben and Harry McKay
Coming together in regular episodes, the twins will dish out the latest footy news, personal stories, behind-the-scenes insights into their footy clubs, hot takes on everything on AND OFF the field and, of course, some brotherly rivalry along the way.
[Listen to Ben and Harry here]
The Daily Telegraph podcast The War scores three INMA nominations
The Daily Telegraph podcast, The War, has been nominated for three awards at the International News Media Association Awards (INMA).
The publication’s podcast franchise is in production following a fresh spate of violence that has torn apart Sydney’s underworld.
Among the awards it has been nominated for are; Best New Video Product or Feature, Best Initiative to Acquire Subscribers and Best Use of Visual Journalism and Storytelling Tools.
INMA said it had attracted 775 entries from 239 news brands in 40 countries, with finalists hailing from Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America, South Asia, and North America.
