NZ Herald’s The Front Page celebrates more than 1 million downloads in its first year

As it celebrates its first birthday today, The Front Page - NZ Herald’s marquee daily news podcast – is also celebrating a significant milestone in reaching 1 million podcast downloads and taking out the fourth top spot in the latest NZ Triton Podcast Ranker^*.

Reaching more than 88,000 listeners in February alone, The Front Page delivers analysis on the biggest news stories each weekday at 5am, setting listeners up with the insights they need to know for their day ahead.

New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) Acting Managing Editor Murray Kirkness says The Front Page has successfully positioned itself as the country’s top podcast destination for daily, digestible, and trustworthy news content.

“Podcasting is one of the fastest growing digital media platforms in the world and the NZ Herald and The Front Page have been proud to play a huge part in New Zealand’s podcast industry expansion. The Front Page has been a great addition to the NZ Herald and NZME Podcast Network, strengthening NZME’s news offering with its topical local and international content that resonates, informs and sparks debate with our audiences,” he says.

Damien Venuto, award-winning NZ Herald journalist and host of The Front Page, says he is thrilled with what the podcast has achieved in its first year.

“It’s been a privilege to go behind the scenes of the biggest news headlines every weekday, sharing the thoughts and opinions of various journalists and experts. We’ve reached listeners in more than 190 countries and territories and last month we celebrated our highest audience yet, with more than 88,000 Kiwis downloading more than 140,000 episodes! We’re determined to keep this momentum going well into the future,” says Venuto.

James Butcher, NZME Head of Digital Audio, says the success The Front Page has seen within its first year speaks to the exponential growth the digital audio industry is experiencing both globally and in New Zealand.

“NZME is actively investing in the expansion of our podcast network, ensuring we have a diverse range of podcasts that appeal to everyone – no matter their background, age or interests. Podcasts present a fantastic opportunity for advertisers to get in front of an ever-growing audience.”

“As the largest podcast network in the country, NZME can offer unique and specialised advertising opportunities for New Zealand businesses to connect directly with their desired audience,” he says.

^* Source: Triton NZ Podranker February 2023.