NOVA Entertainment Podcast Network officially launches

NOVA Entertainment has officially launched its podcast offering under the NOVA Entertainment Podcast Network (NEPN) banner.

While the network has existed for some time, housing podcasts including Courtney Act’s Brenda, Call Me!, Abbie Chatfield’s It’s A Lot, Charlotte Crosby’s Values & Vibrators, and news-based The Update, NOVA said today’s launch – complete with a new logo – was “the latest evolution in the digital audio offering of Australia’s leading audio entertainment business”.

The business unit will be lead by Rachel Corbett, NOVA’s head of podcasts and digital content.

Corbett will be responsible for the curation of NEPN, including original content production under the banner of NOVA Podcasts.

Publicity from NOVA said NEPN not only has the market’s largest and most experienced podcast team, but also brings together the largest stable of accessible talent in the country.

NOVA’s partnerships with News Corp continues, giving it access to podcasts from The Australian, Sky News, The Daily Telegraph, news.com.au and Fox Sports Australia.

CEO Peter Charlton said the driving force behind NEPN will be its focus on quality over quantity.

“The definition of a quality podcast, in our assessment, is one that delivers an audience, yes, but more importantly, is also accessible and impactful for brands,” he said.

“We have always put the customer at the heart of everything we do, and this is no different. NEPN is, by design, a network built for brands.”

He stressed its other critical point of difference would be its experience levels from both a commercial and content perspective.

“Experience matters,” he said. “We have poured our learnings from recent years, as a market leader in digital audio, into building a network profile that delivers exactly the right scale, relevance and results for our customers. Even better, it’s now accessible via the same seamless customer experience that’s always been a hallmark of the NOVA business. It’s only through our independence that we’ve been able to achieve that.”

Corbett echoed Charlton’s sentiments, noting there’s no point in simply collecting numerous podcast titles. Instead, she said, success relies on listener-first content, hosted by authentic talent with a genuine passion for their audience, as well as a willingness and appetite to work with brands.

“Podcasts are such a commercially powerful environment because of the intimate connection between a host and their audience. But that connection – which translates to trust, loyalty and engagement – can only be built if the listeners’ needs are your top priority. And that’s at the heart of every piece of audio content we create,” she said.

“Amassing a bunch of shows for the sake of it isn’t the smartest strategy in the long term. To be successful, you need to be purposeful and think long and hard about the shows in your network, why they’re there, and who they’re for.

“With NEPN, I think we’ve got the balance right.”

CEO Charlton also addressed the evolution of NOVA’s Podcast offering since splitting with Acast.

“We had a brilliant partnership with Acast, but we walked away knowing we wanted to bring greater precision to our content offering. Namely, to focus exclusively on the content that could support the depth of creativity and integration the market has come to expect from us.”

Charlton was careful not to make it all about podcasting, however, noting the overall power of multiple revenue and content streams.

NOVA, he said, can now offer brands and audiences an integrated audio offering.

“NEPN is still just one part of the audio story though,” he said.

“We know a siloed approach to audio is not what our customers want or need. Now that we have the right complement to Australia’s leading broadcast network, we’re excited to help them realise the total audio opportunity.”