ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network has been announced as the headline sponsor for the seventh-annual Australian Podcast Awards.
The ceremony, which will be taking place in November this year to celebrate excellence in podcasting across the country, marks the second year that Haymarket Media Group has run the awards, after acquiring the event in June 2022, along with the British Podcast Awards and Irish Podcast Awards.
As of April 2023, ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network is the number one podcast publisher in Australia - according to the Triton Digital Australian Podcast Ranker - and the second most popular sales representative, next to broadcast and podcast network LiSTNR.
“We love the annual gathering of the Australian Podcast Industry to celebrate the magic of our thriving medium and are proud to once again lead the recognition of those who are doing it best,” said Corey Layton, head of digital audio for ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia.
The standard entry deadline is 20 July, but early bird applications to this year’s Australian Podcast Awards are currently still open, with a deadline of 22 June to secure a saving of $100 per entry.
Entry fees for all applications vary depending on the company or individual’s annual turnover, with $65 + GST per entry at the lowest end and $225 + GST per entry at the highest, including the early bird discount. Independent audio producers that identify as BIPOC, Queer and/or Trans may also be eligible for financial support with their entry fees through the Podcasting, Seriously Awards Fund.
Categories for this year’s event include genre-specific awards such as Best History and Best Parenting, commercial awards such as Best Branded Podcast and Best Commercial Campaign, and broader categories such as Best Interview and Best Network. Fans will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite podcast to win the Listener’s Choice Award.
A number of special recognition awards such as Podcast Champion, Specialist, and Spotlight awards will be handed out to honour an individual or team; these will be selected by the judges, and are not directly available for entry. The winner of the highest honour of the night, the Podcast of The Year Award, will be chosen by the judges from Gold winners in other categories.
Last year’s ceremony took place at the Seymour Theatre in Sydney and was hosted by host of KIIS FM TV’s music podcast The Night Show, Mitch Churi. Highlights from the night included history podcast The Last Outlaws taking home the Podcast of The Year award and sex & relationships podcast Life Uncut being voted as fan-favourite, winning the Listener’s Choice Awards.
The British Podcast Awards entries are now closed for both early bird and standard applications, and are set to take place on 28 September at the HERE at Outernet in London. Irish or Ireland-based podcasters can still submit early bird applications to the Irish Podcast Awards from now until 23 June, and standard applications by 11 July.
For tips and tricks on how to win at any of these awards, PodPod has released a podcast miniseries hosted by editor Adam Shepherd with the founders of the British Podcast Awards, Matt Hill and Matt Deegan, which is available to listen to on all major podcast platforms now.
