New Scottish podcast competition offers creators the chance to turn their ideas into professionally produced pilots

Audiotrain, Bespoken Media and the Scottish Podcast Awards launch a new competition helping Scottish creators develop podcast ideas and turn them into pilots.

A new competition offering Scottish podcast and audio creators the chance to win a development and production package worth more than £3,000 will launch in Glasgow this November. Pitch to Pilot will help emerging talent develop their ideas, connect with industry experts and turn a winning concept into a professionally produced podcast pilot.

Pitch to Pilot is a new initiative from AudioUK’s training programme Audiotrain, Scottish podcast and audio production company Bespoken Media, and the Scottish Podcast Awards, the national platform created to celebrate, connect and support Scotland’s podcast community. Together, the partners will provide the winning creators with practical support and a clear route from an initial podcast idea through to production and delivery.

The programme launches with an event on Tuesday 3rd November at Berlinkys in Glasgow, bringing together Scotland’s podcast and audio community for a discussion on “What Makes a Great Podcast Pitch?”

The event will feature founder of Bespoken, Dave Howard, Mark Hunter, Scottish Podcast veteran of 20 years and co-founder of the Podcast Studio Glasgow, and Dr Pamela Jenkins, host of My Family, Mental Illness and Me, who will share their experience and insight into what can make a podcast pitch stand out.

The discussion will be followed by drinks and networking, giving creators the opportunity to meet other podcasters and connect with Scotland’s wider audio and creative community.

The launch event will also introduce the wider Pitch to Pilot programme. A further live event will take place in February 2027, when selected creators will have the opportunity to pitch their podcast ideas to an industry panel.

One winning creator will receive a support package worth more than £3000, including 10 hours of executive and production support from Bespoken Media to develop their idea into a podcast pilot, studio production time, editing support and mentoring from the Scottish Podcast Awards, a professional brand identity from Maven Media and a £1,000 cash prize  from Audiotrain. The finished pilot will be published on Bespoken Media’s ‘Made in Scotland’ podcast feed.

Chris Baughen, CEO, AudioUK said:

“Scotland has a hugely creative and ambitious podcast and audio community, and Pitch to Pilot is a fantastic opportunity to help creators take the next step with their ideas. It’s not just about having a great concept, it’s about understanding how to develop it, pitch it effectively and ultimately get it made. We’re delighted to be working with Bespoken Media and the Scottish Podcast Awards to create a practical route from that first idea through to a finished pilot, and to bring the Scottish audio community together along the way.”

David Howard, Founder & Director, Bespoken Media said:

“There is so much creativity and talent in Scotland’s audio and podcast communities. What is sometimes lacking is opportunity, funding, and support. I am delighted that this exciting collaboration goes some way towards changing that, by offering at least one Scottish creator all three of those things - opportunity, funding, and support - and hopefully a route to market. I can’t wait to hear the ideas that will be developed.” 

Corrinne Gardiner, Co Founder of the Scottish Podcast Awards said: 

“From the beginning, we wanted the Scottish Podcast Awards to be about much more than one night a year. There is so much creativity across Scotland, but not everyone with a great idea knows how to take that first step or has access to the people who can help them develop it”.

“Pitch to Pilot is exactly the kind of opportunity we want to be part of - bringing people together, opening up access to the industry and giving creators practical support to take an idea and actually make something happen with it. We’re really excited to be working with Audiotrain and Bespoken to find and support some brilliant new ideas from across Scotland”.

The Pitch to Pilot launch event takes place on:

Tuesday 3rd November 2026
6pm-8pm
Berlinkys, 396 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD

The event is open to any and all creators, and members of Scotland’s podcast and audio community.

To attend the launch event please go to https://luma.com/1h398h3z to register.

Creators interested in finding out more about the wider Pitch to Pilot competition will be able to find out more at the launch event.