The awards are a celebration of the podcasting success of publishers and media organisations. From over 120 entries, say the organisers, the judges marked the podcasts on a range of factors, including production quality, continuity, how well the podcast reflected the publisher’s brand, and growth strategy.
Winners
Best B2B Podcast: The Digiday Podcast, by Digiday Media
Best Brand Publisher Podcast: Bestseller, by Reedsy
Best Branded Podcast: Healthy For Men Podumentary Series, by The River Group and Holland & Barrett
Best Entertainment Podcast: The Pilot TV Podcast, by Bauer
Best Health & Wellbeing Podcast: In The Moment Magazine, by Immediate Media
Best Lifestyle Podcast: olive magazine podcast, by Immediate Media
Best Local & Community Podcast: 16 Shots, by WBEZ Chicago and the Chicago Tribune
Best News & Current Affairs Podcast: The Week Unwrapped, by Dennis Publishing
Best Science & Medical Podcast: Nature Podcast, by Springer Nature
Best Specialist Podcast: History Extra, by Immediate Media
Best Sport Podcast: The Spin, by The Guardian
Best Technology Podcast: Crazy/Genius by The Atlantic
From these 12 category winners, the Media Voices team chose an overall winning podcast. It was one that exemplified the podcast as both a passion project and a product, as well as being a strong reflection of the publisher’s brand. This podcast also wins a digital promotion package provided by headline sponsors DAX, from Global.
Publisher Podcast Of The Year: Crazy/Genius by The Atlantic
There was also an additional award announced on the night, to celebrate key individuals within the business driving best practice, seeking inspiration, and looking for new opportunities with the format. This special award, chosen this year by the Media Voices team, celebrates an individual within the industry who has gone above and beyond to demonstrate the value of podcasting to their organisation.
Media Voices said they were looking for someone who has been vocal both inside and outside the industry about their podcasts, who is eager to make the technology and production processes beneficial to a publisher’s workflow, and who is a true inspiration to anyone looking to launch their first or their next podcast.
Winner: Christopher Phin, Head of Podcasts, DC Thomson
Esther Kezia Thorpe, co-founder, said: “It’s been really exciting to see the response to the Awards, both from publishers keen to get involved, and from the judges who have been blown away by the quality of the podcasts they’ve listened to. Our shortlisted podcasts were all superb, and the marks for many of the categories were very close. Both those on the shortlist and those who won should be extremely proud of what they’ve produced, and we’re looking forward to seeing how their strategies mature and evolve in the future.”
Peter Houston, co-founder, said: “Podcasting is the perfect medium for publishers and it's been fascinating to listen in on all the different ways newspapers and magazines have responded to the podcasting challenge. If nothing else, our award’s shortlist is an incredible resource for other publishing organisations looking for inspiration. It has also been really satisfying to see the industry we cover week in, week out on our own Media Voices Podcast get behind the awards. 120 entries for a first-year event is absolutely incredible.”
Chris Sutcliffe, co-founder, said: “We were taken aback by both the quantity and quality of entries for this year’s awards. We knew there was a hunger for podcasting among audiences; we were delighted to see that publishers are amply fulfilling that need, and making podcasting a central column of their revenue strategies. As we said at the awards, the medium offers unparalleled opportunities to build direct relationships between journalists, creators and their audiences. At a time when trust and investment in brands are more vital than ever, the winning entries are demonstrating that it’s possible to use podcasting to connect with audiences on a more personal level than ever before.”
