From premium podcasts to omni-channel campaigns, the partnership gives brands powerful new ways to engage millions of Australian women across both media networks.
Wednesday 29 October, 2025 – ARN’s iHeart, Australia’s podcast powerhouse, has partnered with Are Media, the country’s largest women’s lifestyle network, to distribute and represent a range of premium podcasts, alongside cross-platform commercial opportunities for some of Australia’s most iconic brands – including WHO, ELLE, marie claire, Belle, Home Beautiful, The Australian Women’s Weekly and Gourmet Traveller.
Combining Are Media’s storytelling credibility with iHeart’s dominance in audio, the podcast partnership brings some of Australia’s most trusted women’s publishing brands to life on the iHeart platform. The collaboration kicks off with marie claire’s “You’re Gonna Want to Hear This” which debuts today, hosted by marie claire Editor Georgie McCourt and featuring intimate conversations with trailblazers including Jacinda Ardern, Brittany Higgins, Grace Tame, Asher Keddie, Cindy Crawford, and Celeste Barber.
The partnership also opens up integrated commercial opportunities, allowing brands to leverage the combined strength of Are Media and ARN, and provides a seamless solution for brands to engage Australian women with maximum impact in a single brief.
“Are Media’s brands have been cultural institutions in Australian homes for generations and have now exponentially grown audiences through digital and social. That deep audience connection is what sets us apart,” said Jocelin Abbey, General Manager, Homes & Lifestyle, Are Media.
“We’ve already built strong momentum in video and audio, and this partnership with iHeart supercharges that growth. It amplifies the trust our audiences have in our storytelling across more platforms, giving them richer ways to connect with the brands they love, and giving advertisers confidence in premium, brand-safe environments.”
Abbey added: “Almost one in three Are Media consumers have listened to or watched a podcast in the past month. That insight continues to shape how we create, supported by our new, purpose-built studios in Sydney’s CBD, which give us the agility and scale to bring stories to life quickly and seamlessly.”
Corey Layton, ARN Head of Digital Audio, said, “ARN’s partnership with Are Media unites two of Australia’s most trusted voices in storytelling. Together, we’ll give audiences more ways to connect, advertisers more impactful ways to engage and creators a platform that reaches millions of listeners every month.”
For more than 90 years, Are Media has been at the heart of Australian storytelling, beginning with The Australian Women’s Weekly and growing to become today’s leading digital women’s lifestyle network that is trusted by over 10 million readers every month.
This partnership further strengthens iHeart’s leadership in premium podcasts, adding a range of new content to its diverse slate of entertainment, news, and lifestyle content, which delivers more than 25 million downloads and reaches over 7 million Australians each month.