At the age of 51, Karl Stefanovic was a latecomer to media entrepreneurship. Now nine holes into his career, his decision to cash in on a brand built over 20 years as the presenter of the Nine Network morning show to launch a podcasting venture was a gamble.
In theory, Tisa was probably right as Stefanovic spread his wings and sold his brand on many platforms to get rich.
But when the persona of Karl the podcaster – the one who happily met British right-wing activist Tommy Robinson – fought his persona as the host of a breakfast TV show watched by millions in central Australia, results involving tears he was not intelligent.
Stefanovic’s mistakes are one for the books. It was a big swing, or as someone called it, “a stumbling block”.
Viewers of the Nine morning show were outraged, feeling that their funnyman Karl had lied to them.
And remember – Morning Show Karl was being paid close to $3 million a year to stay loyal and popular with his early emerging audience and advertisers who were targeting (mainly) moms with breakfast cereal commercials and laundry detergent commercials.
Unfortunately for Stefanovic, he had to choose one path instead of trying to navigate both. If his ultimate wealth is the measure, then perhaps he chose the wrong path. The Australian market for podcasts is very small.
To be fair, Stevanovic has chosen the direction of media monetization – audience fragmentation and the rise of podcasts.
The podcasts that get traffic and get traction are the ones that push populism — pushing back against the status quo and the politics of grievance, which is generally a mixed plate of anti-immigration, anti-establishment, anti-feminist and anti-power.
In big markets like the US or the US, there is a good living to be made by people like Joe Rogan but the same cannot be said for the size of the Australian market.
There is a limit to the number of people who can register for Karl Stefanovic, and Kyle Sandilands and the latter produces the freshest red meat.
Stefanovic understands the changing media environment, and that the 2 to 3 million dollars he paid him in the past is not future proof. As the decline of free-to-air viewing continues over time, its biggest stars understand that the ability to pay big salaries is increasingly being challenged.
Stefanovic’s replacement will not be treated kindly.
Stefanovic’s interview with Robinson crossed the line for Nine, which was not ready to destroy its advertising income. Wednesday hosted a series of Nine crisis talks after the internet was outraged by the way Stefanovic hugged Robinson during the video. By Wednesday afternoon, Nine was on its knees working out the terms of Stefanovic’s departure.
Earlier in the day, Robinson’s interview mysteriously disappeared from relevant online platforms. The situation was heated when Nine o’clock held a workshop on how to create a divorce from its morning veteran of 20 years.
Having ex-media personalities on top pay would be a bummer for a company like Nine or radio network ARN, which was paying Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson $200 million over 10 years.
ARN captured the dispute between two of its radio stars over the expensive contract they had agreed to just a few years ago.
There has been a lot of anger from Nine about Stefanovic’s framing of the culture war, due to his interview with Robinson.
But it also offers free-to-air internet and the opportunity to cut some costs. So maybe it doesn’t seem so bad.
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