Trade publisher behind Radioinfo acquires Radio Today

Trade publisher AMT Pty Ltd has today announced the acquisition of Radio Today, the Australian media and marketing sector’s go-to source for radio news, analysis, ratings and jobs.

AMT currently publishes Radioinfo in Australia & New Zealand, Asia and Africa, and was a key partner in bringing the annual Radiodays conference to Asia.

Radio Today will continue to operate independently under AMT. This includes the Radio Today Podcast Awards, the Radio Today 30 Under 30 Awards and the weekly Podcasting Today newsletter that launched earlier this year.

Radio Today was founded as a thought-leadership blog in 2011 by seasoned programmers Greg Smith, Brad March, Dan Bradley and Scott Muller, and was acquired in 2017 by Take 2 Media Publisher, Jake Challenor.

Under Challenor’s leadership, Radio Today evolved into a respected trade outlet that breaks many of the industry’s biggest stories and continues to hit double-digit, year-on-year growth.

Following the sale of Radio Today to AMT, Take 2 Media will continue to publish Australia’s leading music business trade outlet, The Music Network, and Content Director & Editor, Vivienne Kelly, will depart the business on November 19 following a restructure.

The acquisition, which takes effect on November 1, brings together the radio industry’s two largest trade sites and job boards, used by organisations big and small to recruit new talent.

Radioinfo’s Managing Editor Peter Saxon said the acquisition of Radio Today is strategic.

“Australia is one of the most competitive radio markets on the planet, recognised as a world leader in all aspects of audio production and broadcasting. It’s only fitting that for the past decade the industry has been well served by two outstanding publications, Radioinfo and Radio Today. We are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to bring the two under one roof.

“In the same way that most radio networks operate two stations in each market they serve, Radioinfo and Radio Today will retain their individuality and a true choice for readers, while offering advertisers highly targeted client messaging to diverse market segments.

“The acquisition of Radio Today will provide both critical mass and economy of scale, not just as a sister site of Radioinfo’s in Australia and New Zealand, but with our other publications, www.radioinfo.asia and our most recent addition, www.radioinfo.africa.

“Across all our publications we will be able to offer a 360-degree view of the audio market to advertisers, trade marketers, technology companies, broadcasters and podcasters,” said Saxon.

Challenor praised Kelly’s contribution and thanked commercial partners for their support.

“Viv is one of the best trade editors in the media business,” Challenor said. “In her first month as editor of Radio Today, page views were up over 65% and unique page views soared 67%. On a personal note, I’ve loved working with Viv. And I’m eager to see which podcast network is savvy enough to snap up her smarts and turn it into the go-to podcast for people working in media.

“Equally, I’ve loved reconnecting with the radio business. Launching the Podcast Awards and our annual search for future leaders, the Radio Today 30 Under 30 Awards, has been a real highlight. To all the networks and organisations that have backed these initiatives, thank you.

“Commercial radio has had a challenging couple of years, but its future as a diversified audio business is bright. The sector is full is smart, energetic and passionate people. Radio Today, under the new ownership at AMT, will continue to tell radio’s many stories.”

Kelly and Challenor will host a final episode of the Radio Today podcast together, this Thursday. The Radioinfo podcast is also available from Acast.