PodcastOne Reaches Down Under
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and PodcastOne have signed a long-term partnership to create PodcastOne Australia. SCA will operate PodcastOne Australia as the exclusive partner in Australia and New Zealand with select SCA podcasts made available in the U.S. on the PodcastOne platform. The new partnership was officially inked in Los Angeles by SCA CEO Grant Blackley and Jim Berk, CEO of PodcastOne. Afterwards, snacks and beverages were served.
SCA is one of Australia’s leading media companies, reaching 95% of the country with assets in television, radio and digital. PodcastOne is billed as the largest advertiser-supported podcast network in the U.S., delivering more than 200 programs, with over 350 hours of original weekly episodes, which were downloaded 1.5 billion times last year. The joint venture represents the first international partnership of this magnitude in the commercial podcast industry with the companies together developing and producing content for both the U.S. and Australia.
Berk said, “This is PodcastOne’s first partnership outside of the U.S. — really the first of its kind in the podcast industry all together — and Executive Chairman Norm Pattiz and I are very excited it is with Southern Cross Austereo, which leads the radio and audio industry in Australia. SCA will now have a U.S. platform to actively promote the best commercial podcasts in Australia, giving creators and producers the opportunity to expand audience reach to new territories, and grow audience by being available on the PodcastOne app and website.”
PodcastOne Australia will be available early in 2017 via mobile app and website, providing listeners with a single, curated destination to easily get the best existing PodcastOne programs, along with the jointly-created lineup. Grant Tothill, currently Head of Strategic Partnerships at SCA, has been appointed to the newly created position of SCA Head of Podcasting to run the new business. Further announcements about new Australian podcasts and the launch of the platform will be made in the coming months.
