“The money isn’t the story…”
Karl Stefanovic‘s latest career move has been raising eyebrows, with rumours swirling he’s signed up for a big-money payday.
The Today Show host, 51, has sparked speculation he’s leaving Channel Nine for good after launching a self-titled podcast and ARN radio show.
Alongside Eddie McGuire, he will host The Long Weekend on ARN’s Gold Network on Friday afternoons, and rumours are rife about his payday for the new project.
However, New Idea‘s industry sources can reveal that it is far from the $200million 10-year contract Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson signed for KIIS FM.
“The money isn’t the story,” our insider says. “It is nowhere near the million-dollar cheque ARN wrote for Kyle Sandilands.
“The real value for ARN is access. Eddie and Karl bring relationships across sport, television, entertainment, politics and business. That’s what ARN was buying into.”
While the deal is modest financially, it is heavily tied to revenue share rather than enormous guaranteed payouts.
No doubt the deal might also have been influenced by ARN’s costly legal battles with Kylie and Jackie O, which are reportedly worth up to $160 million.
But, our source has firmly shut down rumours that Karl has been brought in to fill the gap left by Kyle and Jackie’s now-defunct show, claiming it’s actually been years in the making.
“Karl and Eddie have pitched this idea to everyone in the biz,” they explain.
“This partnership has been in front of all the big radio networks for a while.
“This project existed long before the Kyle and Jackie O situation escalated. People are trying to connect the dots now because of timing, but this was already moving behind the scenes.”
“This has been floating around the industry for at least three years,” they continue.
“They’ve had conversations with multiple networks over time. The idea was never just about a normal radio show. It was about building a media brand that could live across radio, streaming, podcasting and television.”
Karl’s multimedia ARN deal is a rare crossover among radio, TV and streaming, with The Long Weekend set to air on ARN’s Gold Network, 9Now and Stan.
Industry observers believe ARN sees The Long Weekend as a strategic attempt to attract a slightly older audience that still craves big personalities and strong opinions.
“There’s a feeling audiences in that 40-plus demographic are underserved,” our source claims.
“They want recognisable names, humour, opinion and big conversations.”
According to sources close to the project, Karl is preparing to show audiences a different side of himself, away from the stricter world of breakfast television.
“Karl’s watched people like Kyle operate in radio for years,” says the source.
“He knows radio gives personalities far more room to be loose, opinionated and unpredictable than breakfast TV ever could.”
As for the speculation that Karl is leaving Channel Nine? Our insiders have heard that the topic was not part of his negotiations with ARN.
“At this stage, Karl has not indicated he’s leaving Nine,” says the insider.
“But the word at Channel Nine studios has been the end of his time is closer than people think.
“The time is right for everyone, and Karl could still feature in a smaller capacity on TV if he wants.”