NOVA Entertainment and Acast announcement

Sydney NSW, Australia—NOVA Entertainment and Acast today announce the end of their partnership, with both companies set to pursue broader business ambitions.

NOVA and Acast have enjoyed a successful three-year partnership with NOVA representing and selling Acast’s audio-on-demand inventory in the Australian market since 2017.

Effective from Monday 7 September, both businesses will manage sales of their respective podcasting inventory in-house.

Henrik Isaksson, Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Acast, said: “As the local podcast industry continues to go from strength to strength, now is the time for Acast to be an independent player, to offer further podcast-specific strategy, insight and reach opportunities to brands and agencies.

“NOVA has been an incredible partner to work with and we leave on really good terms. The split is simply about the incredible growth of the podcasting market and the huge opportunity Acast can offer to brands both in Australia and globally.”

Peter Charlton, NOVA Entertainment’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “Our partnership with Acast has delivered in all the ways the right partnerships do – insight, experience and importantly, shared success. There’s a lot to be proud of, but now’s the right time for us to build on that foundation independently.

“As in everything we do, NOVA has big ambitions to further develop our digital audio offering, and the work we’ve done with Acast stands us in good stead to realise those. It’s an exciting time, and I wish Henrik and the team the very best.”

Acast Numbers

• Acast is the number one podcast player in Australia
• Acast has recorded six consecutive months of record listens in Australia, hitting 31 million local listens in August alone
• Acast hosts 10,000+ shows worldwide, averaging 240m+ listens per month worldwide
• In six years, Acast has generated nearly $100 million in revenue for podcasters worldwide
• 3,000+ brands have run hugely successful ad and sponsorship campaigns
• Acast has teams on the ground in 13 markets (and counting) worldwide, including an industry-leading sales and content team based in Sydney, Australia

Acast Facts

• Acast hosts more than 10,000 shows worldwide and monetises global smash hits including My Dad Wrote a Porno, The Earios Network, Australian True Crime, as well as podcasts from publishers such as the BBC, Schwartz’s Media, News Corp, The Squiz, The Guardian,The Economist, VICE and PBS NewsHour. Acast also hosts and monetises hit independent podcasts such as Better Than Yesterday with Osher Gunsberg, A Podcast of One’s Own with Julia Gillard and It’s a Lot with Abbie Chatfield.
• Brands working with Acast benefit from access to the world’s biggest podcast buying marketplace – Acast Marketplace – and access to some of Australia’s biggest podcasters and brands locally and globally.
• Acast is the only podcast company certified against all four of the IAB’s compliance metrics. Any advertiser working with Acast benefits from a brand-safe environment and the highest quality, most accountable insights that the podcast industry has to offer.