Nova Entertainment has struck an exclusive deal with Steven Bartlett’s media and investment company FlightStory to represent its portfolio of podcasts to Australian advertisers. 

Nova is now FlightStory’s local brand partner, distributor and advertising representative, with local ad reads to feature across its podcasts. 

FlightStory’s flagship podcast is Bartlett’s wildly popular The Diary of a CEO, which crossed a billion views and listens across Apple, Spotify and YouTube in November last year. 

It is the world’s second-biggest interview podcast, with 25 million followers, more than 11 million YouTube subscribers and over 60 million monthly listens worldwide. 

Guests on The Diary of a CEO include Michelle Obama, Simon Cowell, Trevor Noah and Jimmy Fallon.  

FlightStory’s other podcasts include those by broadcaster Davina McCall, relationship expert Paul C. Brunson and human performance scientist Dr. Kristen Holmes.

“We share a commitment to independent ownership, creative innovation, a collaborative mindset, and the belief that this partnership will make one plus one equal three,” Bartlett said in reference to the Nova deal. 

“Over the next few decades, we’re building one of the most important media companies in the world.

“At FlightStory, brand partnerships aren’t transactional, they’re about shared growth. This partnership creates an unparalleled opportunity for brands to deliver positive influence at scale – unlike anything that currently exists in the Australian market.”

Nova Entertainment’s chief executive officer Peter Charlton termed the latest deal as a “huge win” for the audio entertainment company. “Our partnership reflects how we see podcasting evolving in this country across content, distribution, and how brands can meaningfully work with creators,” Charlton said. 

FlightStory chief revenue officer Christiana Brenton added that the company would “test a new model of strategic distribution” with its titles promoted across Nova’s owned, earned and paid ecosystem. 

Expanding popularity of podcasts in Australia 

In February, Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) released its Australian Podcast Report for 2024 which found a 37 percent increase in listenership over the past two years. On average, podcasts engaged nearly six million weekly listeners. 

Around 48 percent of younger Australians (18-34) surveyed listened to podcasts in the month preceding the report’s release. 

Additionally, 37 percent of Australians aged 35-54 and 21 percent aged 55-plus also tuned in over the same period. 

True Crime was one of the most popular genres, with 57 percent of its listeners more likely to consume more than five hours of podcast content per week.

In Australia, The Diary of a CEO is currently placed at number five on Apple Podcasts behind four True Crime shows, and is also sitting at number four on Spotify.

Bartlett and his hit podcast haven’t been without their share of controversies. In December,  a BBC investigation found The Diary of a CEO to be “amplifying harmful health misinformation.” 

That investigation analysed 15 health-related episodes on the podcast and found each contained an average of 14 harmful health claims that the BBC says contradicted “extensive scientific evidence”. 

In August last year, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned two Facebook adverts for nutrition products promoted by Bartlett, which it said were misleading. The ASA claimed the ads could be mistaken for an independent review and therefore mislead consumers.

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