‘We are proud to be working in the podcast space with News Corp Australia’: Cathy O’Connor

Strategic partnerships in the podcasting space are rife as content owners chase scale.

The latest media juggernauts to declare one of these partnerships include two Lachlan Murdoch companies; his radio business NOVA Entertainment, and tabloid media empire News Corp Australia.

NOVA brings the sales experience and technology, while News Corp delivers premium audio content. That’s the sort of “strategic partnership” and cross-company collaboration that the podcasting spaces demands as it matures.

The pair have previously collaborated on the successful true-crime podcast ‘Police Tape’, hosted by Merrick Watts and Daily Telegraph crime editor Mark Morri.

NOVA says the new partnership will provide clients with a “compelling offer with scale across its audio advertising and sponsorship inventory”, along with access to one of Australia’s largest publishing networks, including Sky News.

“We are proud to be working in the podcast space with News Corp Australia,” said NOVA chief executive Cathy O’Connor, “who share our ambitions for growth in the podcast sector and who also believe in the power of audio to amplify their market-leading content.”

Acast remains the hosting and distribution partner for NOVA and will also help monetise News Corp’s audio content across sport, health, lifestyle, travel, food, finance and the popular true crime genre.

NOVA head of podcasting Jay Walkerden will oversee the collaboration.

“This partnership sees our companies come together to offer listeners some of the best podcast content in Australia and ensure we continue to develop high-quality podcast content in line with Australian audience expectations,” said Walkerden.

The deal includes the runaway hit with more than 45 million downloads worldwide, The Teachers Pet, and will also see NOVA and News Corp collaborate on more co-productions.