Sakal Media Group's News Podcast, "Sakal Chya Batmya", won the 'Best Podcast-Gold' award in the South Asian Digital Media Awards 2021 by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The 2021 awards in their fifth edition received over 140 entries, a record jump of close to double the number of entries in the previous year. These awards recognise South Asian publishers who have delivered unique and original digital media projects over the last 12 months.
The other winners in the categories are Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd for their Malayalam podcast called Club FM Cinema Katha, who won Silver. While the BBC News took home the Bronze for their Hindi podcast, Vivechana.
The World Association of News Publishers, or WAN-IFRA, is the global organisation of the world press. Wan-IFRA strives to protect the rights of journalists and publishers to operate as independent media. They also provide expertise and services to innovate and prosper in a digital world and perform their crucial role in society.
Sakal Media Group was the first to launch a daily podcast in Marathi. Produced in collaboration with Ideabrew Studios, the podcast covers critical issues from daily local, national and international news from the world of politics, public policy, international relations, business, economics, sports, entertainment, etc. The Sakal Chya Batmya Podcast started in April and has since garnered over 10k regular listeners, not only in Maharashtra but also around the world.
Sakal Chya Batmya provides three major news stories of the day, along with special features on banking, travel, lifestyle, health and entertainment. The podcast also presents its listeners with several celebrity interviews. Sakal Chya Batmya is available on all audio platforms like Spotify, JioSaavn, Gaana, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Prime Music, Wynk. Hungama, Epic Dn, and over 50 other platforms globally.