Karl Stefanovic reportedly set to leave Nine after Tommy Robinson podcast | ABC NEWS

Well, Channel 9's newspapers are reporting that longtime Today Show host Karl Stefanovic is expected to leave the network.Now, this is after he published a podcast interview with British far -right figure Tommy Robinson.To get into the thick of it, media strategist and Maxim Conn's founder, Steve Carey, joins us now.Hello, Steve.Good morning.We've got this reporting from the nine newspapers.

What exactly is going on here?

What's happening at the moment is that we've got a disconnect between Carl's long -term employer, Channel 9, and Carl, who's pushing and forging ahead with his own very successful, I might say, podcast called The Carl Stefanovic Show.And Carl knows, because he's been in the business as long as anybody, that controversy makes the best kind of engagement.It just does.So when he's gone to London, which is where apparently he still is, he's interviewed Tommy Robinson.He's posted that on his podcast.It's a bit of a soft, soft shoe shuffle.

Nine has clearly hit the panic button and said, this is not aligning with our brand.Our brand for Morning Today show is a bit softer, a bit more thoughtful, a bit more inclusive.Carl's going off doing his own thing.So now we're going to have this chat with him about his future at the Nine Network.But to me, it's all about Carl.creating and making a controversial podcast to get engagement for his podcast.

Surely there would have been a fear at Channel 9 about advertisers, right?Like, Channel 9 is a business, right?I mean, let's just be open about it.And they'd be worried about what sort of flow and effect that might have.And I mean, from Carl's point of view, this does seem to be pretty deliberate, right?As you mentioned, 20 years, he's been around for a long time, one of the biggest names in Australian media.

And look, like you know better than anybody, the rigours of getting up to come and do a show on breakfast TV where you've got to be on all the time and across many, many different things.Carl has been there and put in the hard work for decades, no question about that.And he's no stranger to controversy.I mean, there was the timeat the Logies when he allegedly appeared after that, you know, half cut.There was the car park stash allegedly with Michael Clarke.

There are a whole stack of things.But Carl, better than anybody, knows that controversy creates the best kind of engagement.We're inflamed by it, and therefore, we may not like it, but we have an opinion about it.So with his podcast, he's even called himself the, you know, it was put to him, is he the American version of Joe Rogan, who's wildly successful.And Carl, who wants to be all things to all people at the moment, called himself Joe Bogan, because he's trying to tap a big, untapped, unloved, apparently, audience.And he's doing that pretty successfully.

Should he have interviewed Tommy Robinson in a very, what purports to be a very soft -shoe -shuffle kind of interview, I would have liked to have been more incisive.But I haven't seen it.But the person who has come to Carl's defence, of course, is One Nation's Pauline Hanson.So that when the material was scrubbed from his own feed, she reposted it.So, you know, and basically had a lash at Channel 9 in doing so.

Yeah, I mean, I don't want to put, there's this statement from Pauline Hanson.I don't want to put you on the spot too much, but you have been a director of commercial TV.Absolutely.What sort of conversations happen in this moment, behind the scenes?What sort of things would actually be going into this?

So what's happening at the moment?There'll be very high level conversations with not only the National Head of News, HR, management.As you would expect, this is a brand moment for Channel 9.Channel 9 faces a potential backlash from one of its biggest stars.Carl strategically has six months to run on a very lucrative, if we can believe it, contract.So at the moment they'd be looking for a way to get out of that in the least possible brand damage way.

Will Carl actually come back?Because apparently he's still in London.Who knows?I mean, if they can massage it so it's a win -win and everybody walks away happy, but it seems unlikely at the moment.So strategically, you'd have to ask yourself, what are they willing to give up?to make it as least palatable as it possibly can be.

So everyone can walk away and go, Carl got what he want, which is six months release out of his contract and the controversy of getting people into his program.And what does Nine get?Can they salvage some of the good feeling about that megastar so that when he leaves, they do it in a way where it's going to be less damaging than it already is?

OK, Steve Carey, thank you very much for your insight.Thank you, Steve.

And we do have a statement from Nine as well that I think we should probably just bring up for you.There it is.It says that the Karl Stefanovic Show is a completely independent production.Nine has no involvement, including in the guest selection and other editorial processes.However, Nine is taking this matter seriously.