Compiled by Jasper Baumann and Tess Connery
Conquering both sides of the Barassi Line – and then some – on The Scorecard
At any given point over the last few weeks, Australians have been cheering along for State of Origin, Wimbledon, or the Ashes. Making sure that everyone is caught up on whatever they may have missed is daily sporting podcast, The Scorecard.
Podcats Week’s Tess Connery caught up with Liam Flanagan, co-host of The Scorecard, to chat all things sport and how the team fit a country’s worth of content into episodes under 10 minutes.
With so many sports on at the moment to follow, Flanagan says that the ever-evolving stories that come out of the sporting world are what keep him coming back for more.
“One of the things I love about the world of sport is that the calendar is predictable and unpredictable in equal measures. We always know that State of Origin is on at the same time each year, footy finals are at the same time of year, and cricket is on in summer. It’s predictable in that sense, but as far as the narratives and the results and the goings on within that set calendar, we can never predict what is going to happen.”
Released every Monday to Friday at 7am, The Scorecard is a much shorter offering than a lot of sporting podcasts. Flanagan says that the aim of The Scorecard is to “give people a fast, fun hit of sport every day.”
“There are probably thousands of sports-based podcasts these days, and the great thing about podcasting is that if people have a passion or a specific area of interest, they can go and find a podcast to listen to where people will speak in depth on that particular sport for hours at a time.
“The idea behind The Scorecard was to zag against what the broader podcast industry was doing, keeping it brief and allowing the casual sporting fans to get across the big stories of each day.”
Despite keeping the content so short, Flanagan says that the team behind the podcast have their work well and truly cut out for them.
“It’s like any media product – there are slow days and there are days where I could do an hourlong version of The Scorecard. A shout-out to Brett Thomas, the other host of the podcast, he’s come on board in the last couple of months. As much as it is only a 10 minute product, the preparation for it is actually quite time-consuming.”
The length isn’t the only challenge Flanagan and the team are up against. Australians love their sport, but contending with a country that has such strong preferences – Could the Barassi Line really exist anywhere else? – means making sure everyone is represented
“Sport in Australia is it’s so geographically specific – the eastern states don’t care about AFL as much as the southern states do, and the southern states don’t want to hear as much about rugby league. So you really do need to find that balance – we’re a national show, we’re trying to offer this to everybody in Australia.”.
The Scorecard has clearly found the balance, however, with Flanagan pointing to the immense growth the podcast has undergone since launch.
“The growth has been mind-blowing, really. The scorecard in its infancy, was like anything when you’re trying to grow a following for something – it was small, and it seemed like rolling the boulder up a hill every day. But I do have to give a lot of love to Spotify, they introduced it into their Daily Drive, and that’s when we saw the take up of the podcast really grow exponentially.
“The Scorecard now consistently is doing 200,000 plus listens every month, we do over 120,000 unique listeners every month, and the audience has stayed.”
[Listen to The Scorecard here]
LiSTNR announce limited series podcast with TikTokers Luke and Sassy Scott
The new podcast features six special episodes created by Luke and Scott O’Halloran; the Melbourne brothers who have taken social media by storm, attracting over 3.4 million followers on TikTok and over 100 million likes.
Luke and his sassy brother Scott became TikTok famous for their hysterical sibling squabbles. Now, on their podcast, they are sharing all the details behind their outrageous videos along with some extremely personal stories, even revealing things that they haven’t told their mum.
In the weekly episodes, the brothers take part in a series of pranks, constantly throwing each other under the bus and having a lot of laughs along the way.
On the first episode the boys hear wild sibling-related stories from their followers, pull a prank on Married at First Sight alumni and host of the Sit With Us podcast Domenica Calarco, and argue over things that infuriate Scott.
[Listen to the first episode here]
Podcast Ranker June 2023: LiSTNR’s Hamish & Andy #1 overall
Triton Digital has released the latest ranking of podcasts in Australia, with Hamish & Andy again claiming top spot. The LiSTNR duo have grabbed the #1 ranking on both the Australian chart and the overall ranking of all podcasts available.
The rest of the top five is unchanged from last month too – Casefile True Crime, Mamamia Out Loud, Shameless and The Imperfects.
There were a number of impressive performers crashing their way into the Top 20. Moving up 30 spots or more were News Corp Australia’s The Teacher’s Trial (#53 to #14) and Nine Radio’s Hannah’s Story (#45 to #15).
Also climbing into the Top is Nine Radio’s Ben Fordham Live (#36 to #18).
LiSTNR has noted it retained its #1 position for the first half of 2023 as Australia’s largest podcast network with more than 8.104 million listeners, and 19 podcasts in the top 50 of the Australian Podcast Ranker.
Hamish & Andy is once again Australia’s #1 podcast and the most listened to comedy podcast, with an audience of almost 1 million listeners.
Gina Liano is back to settle the score with her new podcast ‘Judge Gina’
ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia has revealed that housewife and barrister, Gina Liano, is back with her take-no-prisoners new weekly podcast Judge Gina.
Each week a new case involving both celebrities and everyday Australians will be brought to the court of Judge Gina. Both parties get to present their evidence to Judge Gina who will then make a binding decision.
This season covers the feud between host of The Bachelor Osher Gunsberg and previous contestant Matty Johnson regarding the small matter of a missing wedding invite. The usually cool Osher Gunsberg gets heated over Matty J and Laura Byrne not inviting him – the very person who introduced the pair – to their wedding. Other familiar faces having their disputes resolved throughout the series include MAFS alumni, national radio presenters, and some of the biggest names in TV.
Gina Liano said: “This is my arena so this podcast and the cases in it will need to adhere to my rules. I am busy working back in law as a barrister and will not have people wasting my time. I want the facts and will be making the final ruling, I hope they are ready.”
Travel journalists with more than 50 years of travel experience between them launch ‘The World Awaits’
Travel journalists Belinda Jackson and Kirstie Bedford have launched Australia’s newest travel podcast, The World Awaits, uncovering stories from home and around the world.
With more than 50 years of travel experience between them, the duo promise to get the lowdown from industry experts and inside information from guests on the ground.
Friends and colleagues, the Melbourne-based co-hosts are both as passionate about travelling as they are about telling travel stories.
Kirstie Bedford says the podcast is timely as there’s never been more pent-up demand for travel.
“After a few difficult years, we hope that we can inspire people to take that trip they’ve been longing for,” she says. “The World Awaits is about connecting people with places they’ve always dreamed of going, and maybe some they haven’t thought of.”
This week’s episode features interviews with travel writer and foodie Ben Groundwater, ahead of his World Expeditions food tour to San Sebastian. He makes the case for loving Spain better, while Lisa Pagotto from Crooked Compass talks about why Nauru should be on adventurers’ travel list.
[Listen to The World Awaits here]
ARN release research that demonstrates the power of podcast advertising
ARN’s neurolab has released its latest piece of research that delves into the power of podcasts and highlights how brands can leverage this premium audio space.
Titled “Intimacy Never Sounded So Good”, the study was led by ARN’s Research & Neuroscience Specialist, Dr Tribikram Thapa (Rana), and ARN’s Director of Research & Insights, Justin Stone. The study used cutting-edge neuroscience and sensor technology to understand what happens to our brains when we listen to podcasts, and how these changes influence behaviour.
The results showed that podcasts garner 44% more mental availability than other digital channels, with advertising also viewed to be 30% more trustworthy when heard on podcasts rather than when seen on social platforms.
Dr Tribikram Thapa (Rana), said: “This latest research demonstrates that podcasts provide an exceptional audio space for uninterrupted cut-through with the added advantage of nurturing existing consumer relations and fostering new connections. This is evidenced by increased attention, high quality memories, and strong levels of trust for what listeners hear in podcasts compared to what is seen in other digital media platforms. Businesses should consider podcasts in the mix at a creative and campaign level to further brand image, increase brand connectivity, ensure brand safety, and improve brand salience.”
ARIA-Nominated composer behind hit podcast releases soundtrack from ‘Let’s Talk About Sects’
Joe Gould’s debut album, Nobody Joins a Cult takes a unique approach to composition, using themes discussed in Sarah Steel’s Let’s Talk About Sects as an inspiration.
The podcast provides a deep dive into one cult per episode, with Gould composing a suite of themes for each one. Usually dispersed as a score throughout the episode for Nobody Joins a Cult, Gould regroups the themes into standalone tracks, resulting in an album of percussion-based post-rock.
Incorporating soundtrack music is a no-brainer for anyone familiar with Gould’s regular gig as drummer/producer of The Crooked Fiddle Band, ARIA nominated purveyors of what they call ‘chainsaw folk.’ Stepping out from behind the kit for his first solo work, the strings are gone, replaced by the percussive tools of Gould’s Conservatorium training, with marimbas bubbling, and vibraphones ringing out epic melodies.
Synths make many appearances, providing soundscape textures, with the sonic manipulation of pitch-shifted guitars, sampled glitches and warped ethereal vocals all adding darkness appropriate to the podcast’s subject matter.
[Listen to Nobody Joins a Cult and Let’s Talk About Sects here]
