Schwartz Media has agreed to sell its flagship podcast 7am to Solstice Media.
One of the most influential news and current affairs podcasts in Australia will join the owner of The New Daily and In Daily.
7am has become one of the most important news and current affairs podcasts in Australia due to the input from some of Australia’s leading journalists—who report for The Saturday Paper and The Monthly.
Since its launch in 2019, 7am has frequently been Australia’s no. 1 news podcast. It is currently ranked no. 18 across all podcasts in Australia, with more than 900,000 monthly downloads.
Schwartz Media told B&T that post-sale its journalists would continue to feature in the 7am podcast.
“In the six years since we launched 7am, it has grown to be Australia’s number 1 news podcast,” Schwartz Media’s chief executive and editor-in-chief, Erik Jensen said.
“It has set the standard for audio journalism, telling stories with depth and sensitivity. Solstice Media is the perfect buyer and I look forward to seeing 7am thrive under its new ownership. The sale will allow us to focus on the continued success of The Monthly and The Saturday Paper.”
Solstice Media’s managing director, Paul Hamra, said: “We had been looking to add respected journalism projects to our product mix and audio was a logical next offering for our audience of over 1.5 million readers. 7am is the right fit. We are excited to keep developing 7am into Australia’s leading daily news podcast.”
Solstice Media said it plans to formally take ownership of 7am from July 1, with the intention of continuing with its current team and format.
Nova Entertainment will continue its exclusive representation of 7am for advertising sales.
