CRA unites ABC, SBS and commercial radio with podcasting group launch
Commercial Radio Australia will create a Podcast Working Group in an attempt to grow the sector locally.
The new group will combine the commercial radio broadcasters, ABC and SBS, and will seek to give advice on consumer promotion, audience measurement and reporting, market research and education about podcasting to the radio industry.
CRA is launching a podcasting group for all radio broadcasters
Announced at the Radio Alive 2018 conference in Melbourne, CRA CEO Joan Warner said the group would provide “leadership and a clear strategic direction” for the podcasting industry to flourish. It follows PwC’s 2017 Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook report, which forecasted 8.9m podcast listeners by 2022.
Cath O’Connor, chief executive officer of Nova Entertainment, will chair the group.
“Radio broadcasters are key to driving the growth and development of podcasting in Australia because of our expertise in the audio sector and our existing content production and marketing infrastructure,” Warner said.
“The Podcast Working Group will bring together specialists across audio content creation, research, measurement, marketing and sales, and will allow us to work together on the challenges and opportunities that impact the whole industry.”
ABC’s outgoing head of regional and local, Michael Mason, welcomed the move.
“As podcasting becomes increasingly more important in the radio and audio sector it is equally important that we have the means to accurately reflect its share and growing influence,” Mason said.
“This working group is an important step in establishing an all-of-industry approach to what is still an emerging platform.”
Mandi Wicks, head of radio at SBS, said she was looking forward to collaborating with the broader radio industry.
“Australia’s multicultural communities continue to embrace SBS’s language podcast services, delivering rapid growth in consumption,” Wicks said.
