The Australian Podcast Ranker will begin to include listener and download figures for the first time in an update to the rankings from next week.
The Australian Podcast Ranker, which is verified and reported by Triton Digital and commissioned by Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), has previously only provided a ranking of the shows according to total downloads.
From next week, when the August report is released on September 15, the ranker will include the number of downloads and listeners by title.
The move is in response to demand from advertisers who are seeking more clarity on podcasts’ audiences to help plan their media strategies.
“This new level of transparency will provide consistent and universal audience and frequency metrics for podcasting and will boost advertiser confidence in investing in this channel,” CRA CEO Joan Warner says.
“Starting this month, the Australian Podcast Ranker will rank podcasts by audience reach rather than number of downloads. In addition, download figures by title will also be made public for the first time.
“Agencies will now have information on the reach and frequency of each podcast to assist with planning and buying decisions and podcast creators will have more tools to assist in monetisation of their content.”
The August Australian Podcast Ranker will feature the new format in reporting on the top 100 most popular podcasts in Australia ranked by listeners. The All-Australian Top 100 and the Top 10 Publisher lists, based on participating publishers, will also be ranked in order of monthly listener numbers.
“The updated podcast ranker allows agencies and clients to make more informed decisions around investment into podcasting,” says John Lynch, Omnicom Media Group’s head of out-of-home and audio partnerships and a member of the CRA Podcast Committee.
“We welcome the changes and believe that it can only help to instill greater confidence in this growing area to the benefit of the industry.”
CRA says listeners and downloads are defined in accordance with IAB’s global Tech Lab Podcast Measurement Technical Guidelines.
A listener is defined as “a single user who downloads content for immediate or delayed consumption and can be represented by a combination of IP address and user agent, which is data contained in the server logs which identifies the app, player and device used to listen to a podcast”. A download is defined as a unique file request that was downloaded. At least one minute of playable content must be downloaded to be counted.
“News Corp has been a supporter of the Australian Podcast Ranker since its inception,” says Ainslee O’Brien, News Corp Australia general manager commercial networks and a member of the Podcast Committee.
“It is the only third-party verified source of podcast consumption in Australia and this next step will allow buyers and sellers to use the same language and provide the richer data clients are looking for.”
The Australian Podcast Ranker launched in 2019 and participating publishers now include ARN/iHeartMedia, Audioboom, News Corp Australia, Nine, NOVA Entertainment, Schwartz Media, Southern Cross Austereo, and West Australian Newspapers.
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