Bartlett Walks Away From $100 Million To Keep ‘Diary Of A CEO’ Everywhere.

Who put $100 million on the table in front of The Diary of A CEO host Steven Bartlett? The British entrepreneur and investor-turned-podcast host isn’t saying, but he does say the smart money was walking away from the offer and focusing on building out his own content studio. Bartlett suggests to the UK publication Business Cloud that it would have required his global hit show to become exclusive to one platform.

“I would’ve had less control over where the show appears,” Bartlett says. “With these deals, you’re often contractually incentivized to focus on certain platforms — and sometimes, that means removing your show from others altogether.”

Bartlett says the multiyear deal would have been tied to meeting certain performance targets, as has become standard practice in recent years. He also says it would have meant tripling the amount of advertising on the podcast. “I believe there are smarter ways to monetize than just piling on more ads,” Bartlett says. He tells Business Cloud that he actually had two separate offers — one would have been a three-year agreement.

Bartlett’s net worth has been estimated at around $50 million, so that may give him a different decision-making outcome than other podcasters. In the interview with Business Cloud, he says that “Everyone’s circumstances are different” and he understands why some creators agree to exclusivity or more ads to monetize their show. But Bartlett says that remaining independent is more aligned with his long-term vision and his audience.

“For a show that’s always been built on independence and accessibility everywhere, that felt like a step back,” he says. “One of the beautiful things about podcasting is that it can appear on all platforms at once — and the viewer gets to decide.” Bartlett says they also concluded that his show and their studio FlightStory Studio could produce more revenue on its own. FlightStory reportedly tripled its revenue to more than $20 million in 2024.

Bartlett says they also concluded that his show and FlightStory could produce more revenue on their own by growing beyond advertising, to include subscriptions, merchandising and equity partnerships. He will look to grow those in the U.S. in the coming year. Bartlett signed with the Hollywood talent agency WME in January with plans to expand its The Diary Of A CEO and personal brand to the American market.

Daily Of A CEO became the first British podcast to reach one billion listens and views across Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube in November. The Diary Of A CEO series launched in 2017 and features Bartlett interviewing CEOs and entrepreneurs within the UK’s business landscape. Bartlett says the show has the mission of providing an unfiltered journey into the remarkable stories and untold dimensions of the world’s most influential people, experts and thinkers.

What started as an audio-only podcast transitioned into a video-first experience with a YouTube channel launching in 2019 and today it has 10.1 million subscribers on the video site. The Diary Of A CEO drops twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday.

In addition to his podcast, Bartlett is also a host on the UK version of “Shark Tank.”