Karl Stefanovic will not appear on his scheduled Friday afternoon radio show with Eddie McGuire after widespread criticism of his podcast interview with UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Contract Under Review
Stefanovic only recently signed a deal with ARN Media to co-host The Long Weekend nationally on Gold FM, but the threat of an advertising boycott has led to the contract being reviewed, Guardian Australia understands. ARN Media has confirmed McGuire will host the show alone this week but has not commented on its future.
The chief executive officer of ARN, Michael Stephenson, had touted the show as a landmark deal weeks ago. “Karl and Eddie are two of the biggest stars in Australian media and they are now at ARN,” he said. “This is going to be brilliant.”
Nine Entertainment Expected to Sever Ties
Nine Entertainment is expected to sever ties with Stefanovic but is yet to make public any details of the separation or whether the Today show host’s $2.8m contract will be paid out until the end of the year. The Sydney Morning Herald, which is part of the Nine stable, has reported that Stefanovic would leave the company. Nine has declined to comment.
The Long Weekend, which aired for the first time last week, was to be a multi-platform program streamed across the Gold network, on demand on iHeart, and streamed on Nine-owned platforms 9Now and Stan. But with Nine in the process of ending its relationship with Stefanovic, the streaming arrangement was unlikely to go ahead.
Show Cancelled This Week
Stefanovic and McGuire were going to record the show on Friday, with Stefanovic appearing from the UK. But the program was cancelled for this week after discussions between Stefanovic and ARN. Sources told Guardian Australia Stefanovic was unlikely to return to ARN Media because the company was still recovering from an advertiser boycott brought on by objections to another star personality, Kyle Sandilands, on Kiis FM. ARN has only just settled a legal case with Sandilands for $12m.
ARN Distances Itself
Earlier in the week, a spokesperson for ARN distanced the company from the Karl Stefanovic Show and its guests. “His external media activities, including his podcast, are undertaken in a personal capacity and are entirely separate from the network, which we have no control over,” the spokesperson said. “They do not represent ARN’s views, editorial standards or programming.”
Political Reactions
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese alluded to Stefanovic’s apparent ousting from Nine, suggesting he went too far to the edges of mainstream debate. Speaking at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event at Parliament House on Thursday, Albanese said he would steer clear of the debate engulfing Nine but issued a warning. “Look at what’s happened,” he said. “You go down that road and you go further and further out on the edges of what is mainstream political debate in this country, and you know, I think that can have an impact.”
Pauline Hanson offered Stefanovic a job in her political office on Wednesday night, claiming Nine would be “bloody stupid” to let him go. “They’ve gone so far to the left, Channel Nine. They’re making a big mistake,” Hanson told Sky News host Andrew Bolt. “Hey, guess what, Karl? I’m looking for someone in my office. I want some advisers in my office. So Karl, come and apply for a job with me. We’ll have a great time. We’ll put them all on notice and get the country back on track.”
Stefanovic has conducted multiple interviews with Hanson and her One Nation colleagues on his podcast. In London this week, he also recorded and published an interview with Barnaby Joyce.
