Edited by James Manning

More Healthy Her

Amelia Phillips

When she first started podcasting Amelia Phillips was passing on news from the frontline as a busy mum as well as sharing the learning of experts in different fields. Her children are now a little older, but still a challenge for any mum, let alone a busy nutrition expert, presenter, trainer, blogger and podcaster. The kids are now just a little older, aged 2, 4, 6 and 7.

“Since I launched Healthy Her I have found my niche that I have fallen in love with,” Phillips told Mediaweek. She said in her new season of PodcastOne episodes she is challenging her experts a little more.

“I have given expert opinions in the media over the past 15 years and I have noticed a real shift in how consumers receive expert advice. People used to just want to hear what to do. After an explosion of advice on offer in the health space, some of it conflicting, many people now almost have a health hangover after it seems too hard at times.

“What I have tried to do with Healthy Her, is not only get guidance from experts, but also run it through the mum lens and take the guilt factor down a notch and make things easier to achieve.”

Phillips is a nutritionist and a body scientist and was co-founder of the Michelle Bridges Body Transformation program. “In that program we helped mums get healthy which gave me a unique insight into what works.”

Part of the Healthy Her episodes this year were made up a special Covid season which was obviously not planned. “PodcastOne was able to turn around content super quickly and when school lockdown was announced I did an episode with a home-schooling expert.”

Phillips told us her new episodes are the best she’s ever done. “I have found the formula of what works. Of recent episodes I was excited by ‘Getting your sex life back on track’ with Dr Nikki. I also did podcasts with two New York Times bestselling authors on IBS and gut health, and another on a time management blueprint for mums.” Phillips also mentioned an episode for mums worrying about their child’s weight which had lots of good feedback.

Phillips also recorded a fun episode with David Campbell on parenting from a dad’s perspective.

Listen to Healthy Her here.

iHeartPodcast Network partners with Podsights on measurement

ARN has expanded its partnership with Podsights to enable clients to monitor and measure the effectiveness of podcast advertising in real-time.

The expanded partnership sees Podsights’ reporting and attribution capabilities included with every iHeartPodcast Network Australia campaign. Each client is provided with their own dashboard to track reporting across impressions, reach, frequency, location and more. Clients can take measurement a step further with attribution, monitoring conversion from listen to website visit and purchase.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with ARN,” said Sarah Cotenoff, head of partnerships at Podsights. “The introduction of our technology across all iHeartPodcast Network Australia campaigns instantly elevates measurement standards and expectations for local advertisers to track their return on investment.”

“Podcast measurement has historically been an issue for brands,” said Corey Layton, ARN head of commercial audio and podcasts. “Podsights has set the standard of what advertisers should expect which, combined with the strength and scale of our podcast slate, provides brands with a highly effective and measurable channel to engage audiences.”

The Podsights partnership comes as the iHeartPodcast Network Australia releases October listener data from technology provider, Megaphone. The data from over 1m+ Australian devices shows a massive jump in listening, up 72% since the start of 2020 (Oct20 v Jan20). October is also a record month for listening across the platform.

The Denyers: Grant and Chezzi want to keep control

Chezzi and Grant Denyer

There was no grand plan behind the decision of Grant and Cheryl Denyer to launch a podcast this year. The series Grant & Chezzi has been a runaway hit and has delighted fans and the media. The first series ends next week.

There has been interest from the major podcast platforms, but the media power couple want to keep control and to continue recording in the bedroom of the podcast’s anchorman!

“We spent a lot of time together during Covid, and we like each other’s company. Over the years we haven’t had the chance to have many proper adult discussions,” Chezzi told Mediaweek on a call from the couple’s idyllic regional NSW property.

Grant added: “So we thought wouldn’t it be funny if we recorded those discussions and released them as a podcast!” [Laughs]

TV Week Gold Logie-winner Grant explained he has had around 300 nights away doing TV and radio in the past 30 months – mainly for SCA and Network 10. “I have been an absent family member and during Covid we really got to know one another again.”

The couple used to work a lot together as the weather producer and presenter for Sunrise. “We initially clashed and hated each other,” explained Grant. “We were very opinionated, and it didn’t work, at least off air.”

The fun of the series is listening to how Grant and Chezzi get on now and the details of how the relationship built over the years.

The couple are no strangers to the media, with both of them keen to explode many of the untrue stories floating around. “The truth is often a lot more out there than the stories than have been written about us,” said Chezzi.

Grant: “When we started recording episodes, we realised our life is way crazier than any New Idea article could ever be.”

While Grant acknowledged he had done well out of being the “smiley game-show guy in a nice suit with white teeth,” he is happy now to add more substance and authenticity to his story. “I am happy to admit not everything is glossy and perfect. Things can be hard and harrowing, there are mistakes and we have made plenty of them. I liken the podcast to throwing off a pretend media shell.

“We really enjoy being looser than we’ve ever been and shooting from the hip.”

The couple confirmed that two of the biggest platforms had wanted to talk about a possible partnership, and they wouldn’t reveal if it was PodcastOne and iHeartMedia. “We want to keep doing it on our own. I have only ever made shows for other people where networks own the IP. It is good to create something that is just ours.”

The show’s anchorman is 19-year-old audio buff George Sargent who also has his own podcast, The Convo. “He’s always loved radio and he has built a studio in his bedroom in the middle of nowhere,” said Grant.

Season one of Grant & Chezzi ends next week and the couple have already started recording season two which starts soon.

Listen to Grant & Chezzi here.

Patreon and Acast announce a collaboration

Patreon and Acast have joined forces to make patron-only podcast content available to listeners across all of the major podcast platforms.

The collaboration enables podcasters on Patreon to distribute private, patron-only content to their listeners’ podcast app of choice – including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, Overcast, the Acast app, and more. The integration allows podcasters to publish content via a private patron-only RSS feed, and with a plan upgrade, enables them to manage both their public and private feeds from the same place. Podcasters will also have access to data and insights about their listeners.

Patreon podcasters can manage both free and patron-only content across all of their different Patreon membership tiers via a single dashboard, while Acast provides creators with its podcast analytics as the only podcast company with all four measurement standards compliant with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

“All creators should be able to reach the audience their content deserves, and to be fairly compensated for that,” said Leandro Saucedo, chief business and strategy officer at Acast. “Alongside Patreon, we’re taking our biggest step to date in our mission to support the global creator community, helping podcasters get their content out to more people. Creators thrive in an ecosystem where they can freely create, connect with their audiences, and make a living from their work across any platform – and this collaboration is all about supporting and enabling that.”

The technology will be launched for all Patreon podcasters this month, and follows a private beta that several high-profile creators – including Sleep With Me, 90 Day Gays, and other notable podcasters – participated in over the past few months.

Tia Maria sponsors One of a Kind hosted by Erin Holland

To coincide with new branding, Tia Maria has launched a new podcast series, featuring stories from one of a kind Australians. Including one of Australia’s top fashion designers, entrepreneurs, authors and a man who beat cancer at a young age.

Each week, a new episode will be released in which TV presenter and former Miss World Australia Erin Holland delves into personal stories of unique Australians.

The first episode of the podcast will feature author, actor, singer and social influencer Suzan Mutesi. Since moving to Australia from Uganda where she was born, Mutesi has been hard at work, focussing on her career and building a community on and offline that she can help uplift. Though starting out in the fashion industry, she has segued into acting, singing, modelling and has recently released her first book: Unapologetically Black: Afro Sisters.

The second episode will take listeners through Alexander Porter’s leukemia diagnosis and journey to remission back when he was only 20. Followed by Oz Swim Group’s creative director and fashion designer Kristian Chase, who is responsible for the collections within Aqua Blu and Heaven Swimwear which have been showcased on the world’s biggest runways.

Listen to One of a Kind here.

October hits from Podcast Ranker chart

True Crime
1. Casefile True Crime (iHeartMedia)
2. My Favourite Murder (Stitcher)
3. The Night Driver (News Corp Aust)

Entertainment

1. Hamish & Andy (PodcastOne)
2. Life Uncut (iHeartMedia)
3. No Such Thing as a Fish (Audioboom)

Radio: Breakfast
1. The Kyle and Jackie O Show (iHeartMedia)
2. SEN Breakfast (Sports Entertainment Network)
3. Jase & PJ (iHeartMedia)

Radio: Other

1. Kate, Tim and Joel (Nova)
2. Whateley (Sports Entertainment Network)
3. Rush Hour Melbourne (SCA)

Sports
1. The Howie Games (PodcastOne)
2. The Matty Johns Podcast (News Corp)
3. Sacked AFL (News Corp Aust)

Current Affairs
1. 7am (Schwartz Media)
2. Please Explain (Nine Publishing)
3. The Briefing (PodcastOne)

See also: Podcast Ranker October: Hamish & Andy’s new series highest entry

By James Manning

Acast has recorded seven consecutive months of record listens in Australia, hitting 26 million local listens in September, with Acast able to sell ads on all of these.

The latest Australian Podcast Ranker lists ARN and SCA with a combined 20m downloads in October from a combined 700+ podcast series.

In six years, Acast has generated nearly $100 million in revenue for podcasters worldwide.

These statistics come from Henrik Isaksson, Acast’s regional managing director for Australia and New Zealand, during a discussion with Mediaweek about how the business has fared in 2020.

Acast doesn’t make any podcast content, but it enables thousands of others to do so around the world. As part of that process Acast has a content team which helps podcasters and publishers where it operates, including Australia.

“The tools we provide to publishers are predominantly geared to enabling them to distribute audio content and ingest ads into that content,” Isaksson told Mediaweek. “Some publishers, like the BBC or Guardian Australia, have very capable sales teams who also sell on that content. Some publishers want sales representation, some don’t, but we can sell on all of them.”

Sales revenue at Acast in this territory has doubled every year from 2017, said Isaksson. “We are hopeful that will continue. We have very ambitious goals, not just in Australia, but globally. We want to double sales revenue, double audiences and double our staff. We have held true to that in Australia. Audio is lucky in that it hasn’t been hit too hard by Covid.

“We have been having some very good conversations with the larger media agency holding groups.”

With a total of 10,000 podcast titles on the Acast roster, Isaksson noted both international and local publishers perform well here. “In 2020 we have seen locally produced content generating more listens than international content. That is absolutely amazing too see. As recently as three years ago there was not too much locally produced podcast content. Next year I am predicting about 70% of audiences here will be listening to Australian content on Acast in Australia.”

Acast also helps out its podcast partners with marketing when required. “We are currently hiring for a senior PR and marketing manager for Australia. Especially at the launch of a new podcast we work closely with the publisher and we put together a growth strategy.

“Launching a good podcast is hard, but getting it to big numbers is even harder, which is where our team comes in.”

Investing funds in marketing can certainly help grow a podcast, but it hasn’t been essential for everyone. “We aim to make sure a new podcast gets talked about in the right way in the right environment. Paid-for marketing can work, but it can be hard to find particular audiences.”

Some of Acast’s Australian podcasts are doing very well in international markets too. “The content can travel quite well, obviously in particular to English-speaking marketsWe have one Australian independent podcaster in particular who is doing very well in the UK and the USA. We encourage podcasters to look beyond Australia when they are creating a podcast if they want to grow audiences.”

When it comes to industry initiatives in Australia, Isaksson said he would like to see the profile of podcasting lifted. “Not just for advertisers, but also for the general community. From an industry standpoint we have barely scratched the surface.”

Isaksson said Acast supports the Podcast Ranker initiative and thinks it is good CRA is looking into raising the profile of podcasting. “But there is more than can be done on the Ranker and its profile. Having a ranker that looks like this is not the right initiative, but the ranker itself is a fantastic thing.”

For 2021 and beyond, Isaksson is predicting it will be a huge year for Acast. “We will continue hiring aggressively. We recently grew to 18 staff and we will be releasing new capabilities.

“The business is obsessed with technology and providing better tools for publishers and podcasters on our platform. We have a partnership with Nielsen which enables us to provide advertisers and brands with more data and data-driven campaigns.

“We are also about to offer keyword targeting based on the content of the podcast. If you are listening to a podcast about travel, we index all of that content, and depending on what they are talking about, advertisers can start targeting that podcast based on the conversation.

“We also have a partnership with Amazon where we now also publish all of our content. Publishers can then have their content broadcast to smart speakers and via Amazon Music.”

The attraction of the Acast business for many publishers seems to be that they keep complete creative control and ownership of the content. “That is maybe our secret sauce,” said Isaksson. “And maybe not so secret. [Laughs] We don’t request intellectual property rights when we enter a commercial partnership. That is why we are able to work with so many publishers because we are truly independent. Who are we to say what they should or should not do. That is none of our business and one of the reasons we keep winning so much content. Our content that helps with marketing and works with podcasters has grown from two people to six here because we have trouble keeping up with the demand.”

The most rewarding thing about Isaksson’s role – watching small publishers turn into big ones. “We have a podcast called Too Peas in a Podcast which is a slightly niche podcast from two mums who have kids with disabilities. They talk about challenges, not sugar coating that it can be hard having children with a disability. That show has grown from a very small base to doing big numbers. They are also funding the life they have and the challenges they face through our Acast funding model.”

The host of Melbourne’s #1 FM breakfast show, Gold 104.3’s Christian O’Connell, posted a cheeky tweet yesterday about what is happening at the opposition.

The tweet, since deleted it seems, said: “Congratulations to the new host of Triple M Melbourne’s The Hot Breakfast, the great Marty Sheargold.”

O’Connell continued: “Been a big fan of this real radio and comedy legend from afar since Fifi and Marty. See you in the morning, Marty, let’s carpool.”

While SCA has not yet confirmed Sheargold, industry speculation says he is one person earmarked for the next breakfast show. Former Fox breakfast anchor Troy Ellis is expected to be part of the program with an unnamed female co-presenter.

Meanwhile Dave Hughes and Ed Kavalee are firming as favourites for the 2Day FM breakfast slot. This would be surprising seeing how badly burned 2Day has been in the past with Melbourne people hosting a Sydney breakfast show. However they would be almost guaranteed to improve on the share the how has had recently.

The move by Hughesy and Ed to breakfast would free up drive for a longer Carrie and Tommy program. However because of Carrie’s commitment to The Project, the program might be pre-recorded, at least for a couple of days of the week.

No changes are expected at Triple M Sydney where Moonman in the Morning will start its third year. Changes are a possibility at Fox FM where the station has been recording its lowest-ever shares this year. However that is partly linked to the Covid-impact on FM radio.

Voted by peers, the Media i Awards acknowledge the important role media sales representatives play in the continual pursuit of media advertising excellence.

Introduced in 2011, the Media i Awards are the only awards dedicated to recognising the contribution of media owners. 

This year more than 2,000 media agency professionals voted across three categories:

• National Sales Team of the Year
• Sales Team of the Year by Market (NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia & South Australia)
• Sales Person of the Year by Category by Market (Television, Digital, Print Media, Radio, Outdoor/Cinema)

Charles Parry-Okeden, CEO Media i, spoke during the ceremony of the importance of collaboration between media agencies and media partners noting the challenges faced during 2020 and praising the efforts of the media owner fraternity.

“Whilst there has been universal impact across our industry, evidenced by year on year declines in spend levels across the board, the degree of impact has of course varied by sector.

“Initially, when Covid struck teams dived headfirst into crisis management with a strong emphasis on communication and a focus on staff and company wellbeing. Whilst individuals dealt with the increased workload of significant campaign management demands and all from their isolated home environment.

“In many cases working more for less, Media sales people have required an abundance of self- motivation, resilience, and creativity to navigate this year. These have always been the core attributes of a great media sales professional and no more have these skills been required than 2020.”

Chris Winterburn, managing director Media I, declared this year’s awards the most important in its 10 year history.

“We are extremely proud of tonight’s event. We questioned often whether holding tonight’s awards was the right thing to do given what many individuals and business in our industry have faced in the last 6 months. It has been a very difficult period. That said we have also seen and heard our industry’s response – a response headlined by its positivity and punctuated by its empathy and collaboration.

“We have witnessed individuals and teams rise to the challenge and collectively arrived at the realisation that our industry, and those who comprise it, deserved to be celebrated – and that this year’s awards were perhaps the most significant that we have held.

“The response from our finalists has been overwhelming reinforcing the significance of this initiative to sales teams and individuals across the country. We would like to congratulate all of tonight’s winners on their fantastic achievement.”

Run by Media i, the awards are sponsored by the Media Federation of Australia and returning category sponsors; Carat, Kaimera, Mediabrands, OMD, PHD, Starcom, The Media Store, UM & Zenith.

This year saw the 4 of the 6 team awards presented to sales teams from television networks.

Overall, the awards were hotly contested with Nine the most awarded media company on the night receiving 7 awards, followed by Network 10 and News Corp Australia with 4 awards apiece and Verizon Media and ARN with 3 awards.

Nine were presented with the National Sales Team of the Year award by MFA CEO Sophie Madden, and MFA Chairman and CEO of Omnicom Group Australia, New Zealand Peter Horgan.

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Top photo: Media i’s Charles Parry-Okeden (left) and Chris Winterburn

Nine and Stan have announced they have secured the international rights for Wimbledon and Roland-Garros, having agreed to terms for three-year deals for the two tennis Grand Slam tournaments.

Content from the two tournaments, including the women’s and men’s singles finals, will appear across Nine and Stan’s multiplatform channel offering, with coverage appearing on free-to-air television on the 9Network and building out the newly announced Stan Sport ad-free subscriber sports proposition, which was announced on Monday.

This week saw the announcement of Stan Sports, which will launch in 2021 and give Australian sports fan a live and on-demand premium sport option to be offered as an add on package to Stan streaming customers, with the initial content through 2021 stemming from a new partnership with Rugby Australia and complemented by these international tennis rights agreements.

“On Monday we talked about how Nine was taking a whole-of-television approach to the way we look at sports rights,” said Hugh Marks, CEO of Nine. “Today’s announcement sees us secure two of the world’s great tennis tournaments and gives us the flexibility to develop the right mix of games which will appear on free-to-air television while ensuring all games are available to Stan Sport subscribers live and ad-free on Stan.

“The combination of Stan, alongside Nine’s broader TV platforms and media assets, means Stan is better placed than any other streaming or broadcast TV businesses to bring these sports to more Australians than ever before. In 2021, Stan will be a one stop shop for both these tournaments delivering every match, from every court, live and on demand, and ad-free.”

Mike Sneesby, CEO of Stan, said: “With this announcement, Stan will become a new home of Wimbledon and Roland-Garros – two of the world’s most prestigious tennis tournaments. Expanding our live streaming offer, sports fans can look forward to full coverage of both tournaments live & on demand, ad-free on Stan from 2021.”

Rugby dates revealed

Meanwhile a release from Rugby Australia confirming the launch of its 2021 Super Rugby AU season reveals when Stan will show its first live sport.

Mark your calendars – Friday February 19 as the Queensland Reds hosts the NSW Waratahs.

The match will be live and on demand, ad-free, through Stan’s new streaming sport package and also simulcast live free-to-air on the Nine Network.

Then, later that night, attention will shift to Australia’s west coast as the Western Force host the 2020 Super Rugby champions, the Brumbies, live, ad-free and on demand on Stan’s new sport package.

From round two, every Friday night fixture will be live, on demand and ad-free on Stan’s new sport package with the extensive coverage.

Every Saturday night fixture from round two will be live, on demand and ad-free on Stan’s new sport package and simulcast live free-to-air on the Nine Network.

The 22 games will be played over 10 rounds with one game each round and the finals to also be screened on Nine.

The final will be played on Saturday May 8.

Rugby Australia said it is also working closely with New Zealand Rugby on a trans-Tasman competition and plans to announce details shortly.

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Top photo: Nadal at Wimbledon (credit: Shutterstock / Alison Young)

By James Manning

Primetime News
Seven News 1,022,000/1,007,000
Nine News 771,000/806,000
ABC News 686,000
10 News First 311,000/203,000
SBS World News 164,000

Daily current affairs
7.30 643,000
The Project 257,000/403,000
The Drum 171,000

Breakfast TV
Sunrise 270,000
News Breakfast 221,000
Today 215,000

Wednesday TV

Seven: All broadcasters took a State of Origin hit last night.

Home and Away did well holding just above half a million after beginning the week with 547,000 and 540,000.

The second part of My House and Other Animals was on 236,000.

Britain’s Got Talent then plugged a whole with 186,000.

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Nine: After a national audience of 2,378,000 (Metro 1,598,000 and Regional 780,000) Game 2 lifted a little to 2,434,000 (Metro 1,654,000) Regional 780,000 – again). The NSW victory was good news for Nine as Game 3 becomes the series decider.

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10: The Project dropped to 403,000 up against Origin pre-game coverage.

The return of Jamie’s Quick & Easy Food started with 272,000.

Masked Singer USA was then on 125,000.

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ABC: The channel’s big midweek brands were down, but the ABC share did well, ranking #2 network for the second time this week after the Monday performance driven by Four Corners.

Hard Quiz was on 610,000 followed by Gruen with 627,000 and then Reputation Rehab with 397,000.

The post-election episode of Planet America was on 370,000.

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SBS: The final episode of Walking Britain’s Roman Roads ended at Chichester with 180,000 watching.