Podcast listening up: Infinite Dial 2020 research

Podcast listening continued to grow steadily, with 17% listening to a podcast in the last week, up from 15% in 2019 and 13% in 2018. That is one of the findings from the 2020 edition of The Infinite Dial research into digital audio habits in Australia. This was the fourth year the research has been conducted with Australian consumers.

Weekly podcast consumers listened to six podcasts per week on average. Smartphones and tablets were the devices used most often to listen to podcasts – with 85% listening this way versus 11% using a computer.

While podcasting awareness is higher in Australia than the US – 87% v 75% – the percentage of the population aged 12+ that listened to a podcast in the last month was 25% in Australia v 37% in the US. In Australia 17% of people 12+ listen to a podcast in the past week, versus 24% in the US.

The favourite places for podcast listening are in the home, in vehicles and while walking.

The Infinite Dial Australia is a comprehensive study of digital media behaviour and has been running since 2017. It was commissioned by CRA, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) via their PodcastOne subsidiary, and Triton Digital.

The Joe Rogan Experience soon a Spotify exclusive

The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), one of the most popular podcasts in the world, is coming to Spotify via a multi-year exclusive licensing deal. And, like all podcasts and vodcasts on Spotify, it will remain free and accessible to all Spotify users.

In addition to the popular podcast format, JRE also produces corresponding video episodes, which will also be available on Spotify as in-app vodcasts.

The JRE will debut on Spotify on September 1, 2020, and become exclusively available on the platform later this year.

Joe Rogan’s popularity has waned in Australia though, the only Joe on the April Podcast Ranker chart was Joe Exotic: Tiger King at #43.

Em Rusciano’s podcast playlist

Emsolation and its host Em Rusciano were featured in Podcast Week recently. This week Rusciano has given us her list of favourite podcasts.

“There is much I listen to,” she told Mediaweek. “I like a pop culture podcast Keep It. [From the US via Crooked Media.] The Catch and Kill Podcast by Ronan Farrow is amazing. [A series from the US reporter based on his book of the same name.] Wilosophy is also amazing, I think Wil Anderson is one of our greatest interviewers. (Hamish Blake and Adam Spencer have been Wil’s guests this month. Rusciano has been a guest three times!] Shameless made by some friends of mine and they won Podcast of the Year in 2019. [A pop culture podcast hosted by Melbourne journalists Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrews.]

“There are heaps. Get into them, guys. It’s a great way to pass the time. I put them on when I’m cleaning and driving.”

ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network listening up 9%

ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network has reported a 9% increase in overall listening[vi] and a 14% increase in listening between the workday hours 10am and 4pm[vii].

Across the lockdown period, listening to entertainment and lifestyle podcasts – including travel, health and beauty – increased, showing a shift in audience interest towards wellbeing information and aspirational content. While streaming of news and comedy genres also increased, interestingly consumption of true crime and sports content has decreased across lockdown. This content trend was mirrored across ARN websites where a 91% increase in page views[viii] across lifestyle content was seen.

Sources:

[vi] Megaphone Hosting Platform, 600k+ Australian Devices, March 2020 compared with February 2020 Time spent listening
[vii] Megaphone Hosting Platform, 600k+ Australian Devices, March 2020 compared with February 2020 Time spent listening
[viii] Data from Google Analytics. All ARN Websites February 2020 v April 2020

See also: ARN reports lockdown listening surge: Radio +10%, Podcasts +9%

What She Did Next returns for season two

As Australians begin to emerge from the upheaval of COVID-19 and the recent bushfires, a timely podcast series is shining a light on the brave choices women are making to start a new chapter in their lives and careers.

What She Did Next showcases the fascinating career stories of Australian women from a diverse range of fields, focusing on a big career or life change they’ve made and delving into the highs and lows of their experiences along the way.

Now in its second season, the show features women from rural and regional parts of the country as well as from our big cities – from creatives and entrepreneurs, to authors and activists, to women in leadership, media, politics and STEM.

“I started this podcast because I wanted to shine a light on women who are making brave choices in their lives and careers, to inspire other women who can learn from their experiences,” said creator and host Jacqui Ooi, who began her career as a journalist working in women’s magazines before moving to the non-profit sector.

“I truly believe that by sharing our unique stories, women can help each other better understand what we want for ourselves and our communities, and what the path might be to get there. It can also encourage us to think big and dream big, which we need to, to tackle the inequalities and barriers that women are still facing.”

Guests from season one include Licia Heath, CEO of Women for Election Australia, an organisation helping women learn how to run for public office; Dr Robyn Miller, founder of The Mental Load Project, an online course supporting women and their partners to share the mental load in a more equal way; and Jennifer Wittwer CSM FAHRI, internationally acclaimed gender expert, author and advocate for women’s equality, who shared the incredible story of her trailblazing military career in the Royal Australian Navy over nearly four decades.

What She Did Next is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify, with new episodes released fortnightly.

Visit whatshedidnext.com.au or follow the show on Instagram @whatshedidnextpodcast.

Luke Girgis interviews Tones and I co-manager

One of the managers at the forefront of the next wave of Australian superstars is Regan Lethbridge; co-founder of Lemon Tree Music who co-manages Tones and I, Tash Sultana, Pierce Brothers and more.

What he has achieved with his co-founder David Morgan is nothing short of remarkable, together they have turned a humble, independent music management business into a global powerhouse.

Lethbridge is the latest guest on the podcast series Fear at the Top hosted by the CEO of The Brag Media, Luke Girgis. The busy publisher (the company has just launched Rolling Stone Australia magazine) speaks to the music industry manager in a 50-minute chat you can listen to or watch on YouTube.

Listen to Fear at the Top here.

Podshape signs prolific podcaster Glenn Azar

Podshape, the new podcasting company launched in April by former Nova head of podcasting Jay Walkerden, has joined forces with Glenn Azar who currently hosts three podcasts, The Building Better Humans Project, Bro Chat and Kokoda Track. Azar is a former soldier and evacuation medic, who began podcasting over five years ago and now has over 500 episodes across his three titles. Azar is a human performance and mindset coach who has worked with numerous business leaders over the past 18 years in both fitness and mindset. He also owns an adventure company leading people on adventures all around the world.

The first collaboration from the new partnership is the story of NRL footballer Jayden Nikorima. Across two episodes Nikorima tells the story of his rise through the ranks of the NRL and then how drugs, alcohol and thoughts of suicide brought it all undone. Jayden’s parents and his brother Kodi, who is currently playing NRL, share the emotional tale of Jayden’s fall from grace and his fight to play NRL again.

Listen to The Building Better Humans Project here.

Fremantle Australia launches into podcasting with Acast

Global production company Fremantle and Acast have announced a partnership to develop premium audio-on-demand content in Australia.

The announcement marks Fremantle’s launch into the world of podcasting by its Australian division, selecting Acast to distribute and monetise its audio content to a local and global audience. Fremantle has been operating in the podcasting space since November 2018, when it launched its scripted podcast label, Storyglass.

Chris Oliver-Taylor, Fremantle CEO, Asia-Pacific, said: “This is a natural progression for Fremantle’s Australian team to link with Acast to bring our innovative programming and production techniques to the world of podcasting, mirroring the success of our international divisions that have been hugely successful in this growing and exciting genre.”

Guy Scott-Wilson, Acast’s content director, said: “Our partnership with Fremantle reinforces Acast’s commitment to be the home of compelling independent podcast content in Australia. There are so many exciting and important Australian stories to be told – we’re delighted to be working with Fremantle to tell and share them with the world through the medium of podcasting.”

Fremantle’s partnership with Acast commences with the launch of a new true crime podcast, Chasing Charlie, now available. Further podcasts are planned to launch this year.

In Chasing Charlie, Melbourne private investigator Julia Robson retells a gripping eight-year manhunt in Victoria and across the globe. Narrated by Robson herself, the six-part docu-series, places the unwavering PI at the centre of a cat and mouse game with a sadistic conman. With episodes dropping weekly, listeners deep dive into Robson’s quest to avenge the dozens of women psychologically and financially thwarted by the elusive Charlie. Her hunt will lead her face to face with the manipulative conman.

Listen to Chasing Charlie here.

Andrew Cook hasn’t spent much time though inside 54 Park Street in the past few weeks, with most Bauer Media employees continuing to follow government guidelines by working from home during COVID-19.

Integrating the new Pacific titles and teams and learning about those titles hasn’t been easy with the staff in lockdown. “We are managing to engage with clients though with our IT allowing us to get the job done,” Cook told Mediaweek. It’s a daunting job – even the slimmed down Bauer and Pacific portfolio combined is 43 brands.

Cook agreed that magazines had been beaten up more than other media in recent times. “After being out talking to the market there remains a huge amount of interest in magazines and the history of our titles including the amazing women and men who have been editors.

“If you look at the data, magazines might represent 1% of total ad spend, but we seem to be getting a much bigger share than that in media news at present. It is disappointing to see negativity about the brands. We are truly excited about what the future holds for the new Bauer. There has been an unnecessary beat-up about what has happened.”

SMI data for 2019 indicated magazine ad revenue was $88m in a market worth $18b.

Cook’s CV in the past two decades includes ACP for 11 years, followed by six running sales at SBS and then two years at News Corp Australia.

“My decision to join Bauer was made back in October 2019 with the opportunity to again to run a sales department. I enjoyed my time at SBS where I was also director of sales. I was given a great opportunity at News Corp to look after The Australian and the prestige titles [including Vogue Australia and GQ] – there is something to be said for having complete autonomy.

“The chance to work with Brendon Hill [Bauer CEO], Andrew Stedwell [CFO] and Sarah Belle Murphy [Executive GM publishing] was too good to pass up.” Hill and Stedwell worked alongside Cook during his years with ACP.

“There were interesting times during my ACP years working on everything from The Bulletin to the men’s magazines at the time we acquired Emap.”

Cook is keen to remind people about Bauer Media’s reach to Australian women and how they engage with the different Bauer brands. “We might not the biggest and best in every category, because we are not, but when it comes to what we know about women will be useful to clients.

“When clients are talking about women we want to make sure we are not forgotten about. Magazines are not dead!”

Cook and his team are sharing the findings of its annual survey HERpulse which shows a lot of readers are wanting to take a break from the bad news of COVID-19. “Magazines are able to help readers escape and to help them with their mental health.”

Cook doesn’t think it will be hard to sell the benefits of the group while some of the key titles are not currently being published. “Our ambition is that those paused titles come back as planned.

“One of our key focuses will be the heartland category with Better Homes & Gardens, The Women’s Weekly, Woman’s Day and New Idea. The scale that those magazine can offer can be made available very quickly, especially in terms of the weekly titles.

“It is a very short term market at the moment which is why we have ensured the fashion and beauty titles that paused have kept their digital options open. The return to print of Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and InStyle will be determined by the market though and consumers and advertisers returning to spending again with more confidence.”

The sales teams for the various titles in the merged business used to be fierce competitors. Pacific salespeople used to explain why the Bauer brands were no good, and vice versa. How will Cook manage the change of messaging to clients?

“Now we are all the one company under the one roof our offer is about how we can provide our clients with an even better solution with all of the products. It is important to be able to talk about the power of Woman’s Day and New Idea together, rather than continually beat themselves up.”

Looking at how the ad dollars going into magazines has plunged over the past 10-15 years, how confident is Bauer about bringing back lapsed print advertisers?

“We have a compelling story the market will want to hear about,” said Cook. “The story will make some clients who haven’t been using us recently to reconsider the offer as a group. We are now much bigger and reach 6 in 10 Australian women every month.” Cook added the print audience when added to the digital reach gives advertisers a decent sized audience they can connect with.

See also: Bauer Media brands now reach six in ten Australian women, subscriptions surge 60% due to COVID-19 crisis

Following the Pacific Magazines acquisition, Bauer has extended its reach to more than 6.5 million women each month, across magazines, websites, video, social, customer reviews sites, podcasts and experiences.

The addition of brands including Better Homes & Gardens, marie claire, New Idea, Who and that’s life! to Bauer’s portfolio means the combined monthly print readership reaches 6.8 million^. Across the digital channels, Bauer’s 4.7 million+ monthly audience has been boosted by Pacific’s 3.1 million**, with combined social connections now more than 30.5 million.#

Brendon Hill, CEO of Bauer Media said: “Following the integration of Pacific Magazines, we now reach more than half of Australian women each month through our expanded portfolio of brands. Across a number of key categories in print, digital and social, we are the leading media company delivering trusted and targeted content.

“Our increased reach and deep understanding of how brands can effectively connect with Australian women is needed now more than ever. Changes in sentiment and spending priorities are driving advertisers to rethink their approach, and through our ongoing research we have unique insights into how women are navigating the new world to help inform their strategy. We look forward to working with commercial partners to maximise their investments and engage with our audiences across the new portfolio.”

Subscriptions and audience surge

As Australians turn to magazines for escapism and inspiration, Bauer has seen a surge of more than 60% in their subscription sales over the past month. The Australian Women’s Weekly recorded a subscription increase of 97% in past 30 days compared to the previous month, while Woman’s Day is up 81%, Take5 is up 87% and Country Style rose by 77%, showing Aussies love of printed magazines remains strong.

As consumers seek out ideas to keep them busy during isolation such as new recipes, puzzles, and tips for the home and garden, magazine subscriptions have rocketed by 111% over the past 30 days vs the same period last year.~

In addition to some of Bauer’s biggest brands enjoying subscription boosts, audiences across its digital platforms were also up 30% YoY for March.+

Now to Love recorded a unique audience of 1.6 million, with a +86% increase in page views at 17.2 million YoY according to Nielsen Digital Content Ratings. Other sites delivering increased unique audience include Homes to Love up 28% YoY, Women’s Weekly Food up 101% and Gourmet Traveller up 11%. Digital audiences for ELLE and Harper’s BAZAAR were also up 37% and 97% YoY respectively.++

^Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, Print reach and frequency, March 2020 – 4 Weeks, All Bauer (37) titles, AP 14+ 
**Source: Nielsen Digital Panel Mar-2020 Pacific Digital Network AP 13+ – Unique Audience 
#Source: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter followers as at May 2020
+ Source: Total Bauer Network Roy Morgan Audiences April 2020 AP 14+
* Source: Total Bauer Network Roy Morgan Audiences March 2020 AP 14+
++ Source: Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, Feb 2020 vs Mar 2020 Monthly Tagged (MoM) and Mar 2019 vs Mar 2020 Monthly Tagged (YoY), Digital (C/M), People 2+, Text, Unique Audience, Page Views
~ Source: Bauer Media Subscription Data March 2020 vs April 2020 – As of April 30 2020. Bauer Media Subscription Data April 2019 vs April 2020 – As of April 30 2020 
Currently unable to combine digital brands across Pacific and Bauer until Q3 2020

2GB was also breached over decency rules in relation to comments made by Jones regarding New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

The ACMA received more than 125 complaints about a broadcast of The Alan Jones Breakfast Show that went to air in 2019.

Over the course of the broadcast Jones made several statements regarding Ardern that the ACMA has determined offended against generally accepted community standards of decency.

These statements by Jones included:

‘I just wonder whether Scott Morrison’s going to be fully briefed to shove a sock down her throat’.
‘Now I hope Scott Morrison gets tough here with a few backhanders’.
‘I hope he goes for the throat this morning’.

ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said these comments were not appropriate for public radio broadcasting in today’s Australia.

“The repeated use of violent metaphors by Mr Jones and his apparent encouragement of aggressive silencing of Ms Ardern was highly offensive and did not meet contemporary community expectations,” said O’Loughlin.

“This was evident in the public display of outrage from the community, actions by advertisers and actions by then chairman of Macquarie Media who publicly stated any recurrence of this type of comment would result in the termination of Mr Jones’ contract.

“Acknowledging that the broadcast had caused offence to many in the community, 2GB did not oppose ACMA’s breach finding in relation to decency.”

Jones also made an on-air apology on the same day as the broadcast, an on-air clarification the following day and a written apology to Ardern. The licensee also advised the ACMA it had counselled Jones.

“Given the imminent retirement of Mr Jones from 2GB and the actions taken by Macquarie Media and Mr Jones at the time, the ACMA is not taking further action against the licensee for breach of the decency rules,” said O’Loughlin.

The ACMA’s investigation also found a number of statements made in a segment about climate change policy were not accurate.

These included an incorrect assertion by Jones that biomass is a fossil fuel, and the incorrect presentation of figures relating to Australia’s and New Zealand’s percentage of energy use from solar and wind. The ACMA found that these comparisons were not based on like-for-like data.

O’Loughlin said broadcasters had a responsibility under their own industry code to use reasonable efforts to ensure the facts they are presenting are accurate.

“The factual error and inconsistent information were used to incorrectly portray that Australia generates more of its energy from renewables than New Zealand.”

In addition to the on-air correction of the factually incorrect statements by Jones, 2GB will incorporate the investigation findings into future training for staff.

Twelve per cent of the population listened to radio online in the last week, up from 10% a year ago.

Commercial Radio Australia chief executive officer Joan Warner said Australian radio was leading the way compared to other countries where the Infinite Dial study was conducted.

“Australian radio continues to perform strongly, with 82% of people listening weekly. This compares to 65% in the US, 69% in Canada and 62% in Germany,” she said.

Podcast listening continued to grow steadily, with 17% listening to a podcast in the last week, up from 15% in 2019 and 13% in 2018.

Weekly podcast listeners listened to six podcasts per week on average.  Smartphones and tablets were the devices used most often to listen to podcasts – with 85% listening this way versus 11% using a computer.

Smart speaker ownership also continued to grow steadily, with 17% of survey respondents owning at least one, up from 13% a year ago. Google Home is the most popular brand.

In the car, 83% of those who had been in a car in the last month had listened to AM, FM or DAB+ radio, 33% had listened to online audio streaming services, 32% had listened to a CD player, 19% had listened to owned digital music and 14% had listened to a podcast.

Edison Research president Larry Rosin said smart speakers present an exciting new pathway for audio consumption.

“The audio space is extremely dynamic today, creating opportunities and threats for all players,” he said.

The Infinite Dial Australia is a comprehensive study of digital media behaviour and has been running since 2017. It was commissioned by CRA, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) via their PodcastOne subsidiary, and Triton Digital.

The research was conducted in the first quarter of 2020, prior to the lockdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic, and is a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,014 people aged 12 and older, with data weighted to national 12+ population figures.

[i] March and April 2020
[ii] Adobe Analytics: ARN live streamed stations via iHeart, comparing Mar & Apr 2020 to Jan & Feb 2020
[iii] Data from Google Analytics. All ARN Websites February 2020 v April 2020
[iv] Feb20 vs Apr20 – Facebook, Instagram, Global Traffic; ARN site total
[v] Adobe Analytics: Average monthly audience increase via iHeart (Artist Radio, Favourites Radio not de-duped), comparing Mar & Apr 2020 to Jan & Feb 2020
[vi] Megaphone Hosting Platform, 600k+ Australian Devices, March 2020 compared with February 2020 Time spent listening
[vii] Megaphone Hosting Platform, 600k+ Australian Devices, March 2020 compared with February 2020 Time spent listening
[viii] Data from Google Analytics. All ARN Websites February 2020 v April 2020

Itch follows the adventures of Itchingham Lofte, a science obsessed teenager who pursues the unusual hobby of collecting all the elements on the Periodic Table. When Itch gets his hands on a new, previously unknown element, things start to get interesting. Pursued by his malevolent teacher, the government and an evil corporation who are out to commandeer the element for their own nefarious purposes, Itch must draw on his science know-how to stay one step ahead of his adversaries and keep himself alive.

The ABC’s head of content sales & distribution Jessica Ellis said “The BBC is the most prestigious broadcaster of children’s programs in the world, ABC Commercial is thrilled that our first-class content will now be seen on their platform. ABC Commercial has been working hard on expanding our portfolio of children’s and young adult content, this sale is recognition that the hard work has paid off and that our high-quality content resonates with audience around the world.”

The series was filmed in the coastal town of Albany, Western Australia. Producers of the series, Komixx Entertainment (The Kissing Booth) felt the Great Southern landscape of regional Western Australia was similar to the rugged coastline of Cornwall in the UK, where the Itch novels are set.

Itch is a Komixx Entertainment Production in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Screen Australia, Screenwest and Western Australia Regional Film Fund. Based on the best-selling book by Simon Mayo the screenplay is written by Melanie Halsall, Dan Berlinka, Ron Elliott, Heather Wilson, Jessica Brookman and Roger Monk. Produced by Amanda Morrison, Tania Chambers and Melanie Halsall. 

Itch will be broadcast on BBC’s children’s channel CBBC.

Seven News 1,175,000/1,138,000
Nine News 1,136,000/1,084,000
ABC News 856,000
A Current Affair 721,000
7.30 682,000
The Project 389,000/658,000
10 News 424,000,000/276,000
Sunrise 301,000
The Drum 243,000
News Breakfast 214,000
Today 213,000
SBS World News 175,000
The Latest 127,000

Nine: Nine was most competitive at 6pm with the News leading in Sydney and Brisbane. A Current Affair dropped from 762,000 Tuesday to 721,000 last night.
Taronga: Who’s Who in the Zoo was on 419,000 followed by Paramedics that lifted the audience to 490,000.

Seven: The broadcaster can claim #1 all people for its primary channel and the network result. The 6pm News again topped the rankings followed by Home and Away on 645,000 for its third successive night close to 650,000.
Britain’s Got Talent just was just under 600,000 after 523,000 a week ago.
The launch of Bodyguard on FTA TV saw two episodes deliver 377,000 and then 313,000.

10: The Project did 658,000 at 7pm, keeping its numbers consistent so far across the week.
MasterChef featured a vegan Mystery Box as the remaining contestants take part in a two-night contest to get immunity for the next elimination on Sunday. The fab four fighting for that immunity tonight are Reece, Jess, Simon and Poh. The audience climbed back above 1m with 1,020,000 watching.
There was a strong result for the Lingo Pictures Aussie drama The Secrets She Keeps with the week-on-week overnight audience growing from 419,000 to 514,000.

ABC: Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery returned at 8pm with Dr Karl the first guest as he explored his childhood home in Wollongong. The first episode did 623,000, trailing only MasterChef in the timeslot.
The Weekly then did 548,000 with Hannah Gadsby talking about her new Netflix special plus Weekly regulars Judith Lucy and Luke McGregor and former regular Kitty Flanagan. The second episode of At Home Alone Together was on 387,000 after 447,000 on debut.

SBS: Winchester Cathedral was the location of the final episode of Britain’s Cathedrals with Tony Robinson. The show has wrapped with 281,000 after 286,000 last week.
The last episode then of My Grandparents’ War featured Mark Rylance with 177,000 after 189,000 a week ago.