Guardian Unlimited has been busy this week. Not only have they joined the Radio Academy as a patron member, but have also announced they are joining the UK Podcasters Association. The newspaper claims they are now a significant force in quality speech programming, rivaling the BBC.
The Guardian’s audio department produces Football Weekly, one of the popular football podcasts in the UK; a daily news show, Newsdesk; Media Talk and other specialist weekly shows, and the Muslim podcast Islamophonic.
Head of audio Matt Wells at Guardian Unlimited said: “We are now a significant force in quality speech programming, with hundreds of thousands of downloads a week. For the first time, the BBC has a serious rival in this area. It makes sense to have a seat at the top table at the leading radio industry organisation, and also to be a major player in the only body that represents podcast producers in the UK.”
Dean Whitbread, Chair of UKPA, said: “UKPA is pleased that Guardian Unlimited has joined our organisation, the first major publisher to do so.
GCap Media also recently joined the association, and was the first radio group to do so, rating podcasts as part of their core business and content offering to consumers and commercial customers alike.