In a development that further recognises the boom and potential of audio content, The Quint, one of India’s leading digital publications, and Malayala Manorama, one of the oldest newspapers in the country, have partnered with Ideabrew Studios to create, host, and distribute podcasts.
Through this partnership, Ideabrew Studios will host, distribute and monetise over 30 existing shows including top shows such as Urdunama, Qisse Kahaniyan and The Big Story. Together, they will also work to create rich content through new brand-led shows that appease the listener as well as benefit the brand partner.
“The Quint has been a leader among digital news media companies in leveraging the power of sound through its episodic and serialised podcasts. Collaborating with Ideabrew Studios opens exciting prospects for us in terms of not only reaching out to our habitual listeners and finding new audience – but also getting to know them better. The data provided by Ideabrew is helping us better measure user numbers, understand user behaviour, and study demography in a more systematic manner. This year, there’s been an uptick in listenership across podcasting channels as the world returns to a post-pandemic normalcy – and for The Quint, the tie-up provides a timely opportunity to capitalise on this revival.” shared Shelly Walia, Executive Editor, The Quint.
In early 2022, Ideabrew and Malayala Manorama launched a strategic podcast collaboration, which resulted in extensive amplification and reach of their podcasts as well as scale for the business partnership. Now, one of India’s oldest publishers and the top Malayalam regional daily with a strong digital presence has made in-roads into audio content by launching podcasts with Ideabrew Studios.
Speaking of its association with Ideabrew, Mariam Mammen Mathew, CEO , Manorama Online said, “”We are happy to start our relationship with podcast creators and hosting platform IdeaBrew. In a short time, our listeners have responded well to the interesting and rich content in English and Malayalam languages on different podcast platforms. Podcasting is disrupting the traditional radio space, making it an exciting time for the news industry. We are happy about creating rich news content that’s true to our brand and a refreshing cultural and technological change across our newsrooms.”
With 23 popular shows across genres in Malayalam and English, this is already a head start. Mariam added, “This partnership is going to give us a fillip to push out the several projects in our pipeline.”
Aditya Kuber, CEO of Ideabrew, said, “Whether it’s COVID-19 updates, political discord, a new space launch, or the latest celebrity shenanigans, news channels carry 24-hour news, giving you something to constantly ponder or worry over. Through our medium of audio content, Ideabrew aims to disrupt the way the audience receives and responds to daily news. Our podcasts are designed to engage in healthier outlets that allow our audiences the flexibility to choose when they want to consume their news and also stimulating formats in the form of in-depth analysis, interviews or opinions from experts on the subject to make news informative, wholesome and entertaining.”
He further added, “We are excited about making steady inroads into the news category by partnering with the best news providers across the country to make audio the preferred medium to receive national, regional, and local news in different languages. Our premier association with the HW News network has been phenomenal, attracting a new and far younger audience through podcasts, giving the brand a distinctive extension to get their content out.”
This is the latest in a series of strategic partnerships that Ideabrew Studios has struck on its way to becoming India’s most valued podcast host. Their current partners for whom they create and host audio shows are Sakal News, HW News and Reason.