In an earnings report issued this week, Australian group Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) released interesting numbers which chart progress in podcasting. CEO Grant Blackley spoke with Radio Info in Australia, noting that he expects imminent profitability in the podcast arm of his radio business.
“We targeted a $5.1 million investment in podcasting and we will be cash flow positive by the second half of this year. We’ve had 150 million downloads and we have 65 authors in our stable of podcast creators. We’ve seen a vast improvement in revenues for podcasting, with revenue growing by 260% on last year and the number of advertisers in podcasts increasing by 300%. Monetization of this new product is improving considerably… we expect podcasting to contribute meaningfully to earnings into the future.”
SCA reportedly produces over 2,500 podcast episodes per year, employing 65 creators. Sponsors include Amazon, Coca-Cola, Coles, Telstra, and Netflix. Audience growth is 260%, year-over-year — corresponding growth of advertisers.
SCA operates the Australian division of PodcastOne. Blackley noted that AdsWizz provides the tech platform for streaming and ad injection.
Speaking more broadly about digital audio, Grant Blackley was optimistic, projecting that podcasting and digital is “continuing to grow strongly year on year.”