Karl Stefanovic eyeing Nine exit for radio role, according to new report. Karl Stefanovic is in talks to depart his high-profile TV role at Nine to move into a different field, according to a new report.
Karl Stefanovic is in talks to depart his high-profile TV role at Nine to move into radio at ARN, according to a new report.
The Australian’s Media Diary column today reports that Stefanovic has ‘signed a memorandum of understanding” with radio company ARN, with the intention of making the move into commercial radio when his current contract with Nine expires in December.
The Oz also reports that Stefanovic is already eyeing one high-profile ex-TV star as his co-host: None other than Carrie Bickmore, former host of The Project who currently co-hosts the national drive radio show on the Hit Network.
The outlet further reports that ARN’s new chief executive Michael Stephenson has plans to woo a number of other high-profile Australian media identities into the fold, among them Ben Fordham, Ray Hadley, Samantha Armytage and Erin Molan.
Entertainment reporter Peter Ford had an even bolder prediction about Stefanovic’s future during a segment on 3AW today.
“It’s certainly been common talk within the industry for a couple of months now – Karl was only signed to a new one-year contract this year,” Ford said on 3AW Breakfast.
“I’d be surprised if Karl actually sees the year out to be honest.”
News.com.au has today contacted both ARN and Nine seeking comment.
Stephenson has some cash to spend, of course, after ARN dismantled its golden duo, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, who were both on a $200 million, 10-year deal (scheduled to run until 2034) which ARN terminated after a bizarre on-air dispute about Jackie’s interest in horoscopes.
ARN may not have exited that deal scot-free though, with both Jackie O and Kyle now taking separate legal action against their former employer for what they each allege was an unfair termination of their respective contracts.
For Stefanovic’s part, a move into the world of commercial radio would be somewhat surprising, given the fanfare with which he launched his own independent, self-funded podcast recently.
The veteran TV host launched The Kyle Stefanovic Podcast on YouTube in January, and has attracted a string of high-profile guests, launching with Pauline Hanson before episodes that saw Stefanovic chat with everyone from Kyle Sandilands to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The project has been a huge success, with Stefanovic’s show now boasting more than 75,000 subscribers on YouTube – thanks to viral clips from his interviews with titles like “CLIMATE CHANGE IS BULLS**T: HERE’S WHY” and ‘THE FUEL WARNING POLITICIANS TRIED TO SILENCE.”
But one industry expert suggests the instant success of Stefanovic’s podcast might make it easier for him to decide to call time on his 20-year tenure at Nine.
“Very few people have started their own platform and made a bigger splash as quickly as Karl,” former Nine presenter and Sports Entertainment Network CEO Craig Hutchison said on his own podcast, The Sounding Board, last week.
“He’s made a far bigger splash than anyone expected him to in a very short time … and he’s attracting advertising money already.”
“What’s clear though, is two things: one, it (his podcast) is not in his employer’s interest,” Hutchison continued.
“They’ve underestimated, in my view, how good he’d be at it … [and two], he’s really started his next job while he’s in the last year of his last job.”
On 3AW this morning, Peter Ford suggested the success of this “side hustle” might be making bosses at Nine start asking questions.
“He’s devoting a lot of energy into it at the moment, to the point where Nine might be asking, ‘Is this your primary focus? Because your side hustle seems to be taking a lot of your time.’”