Veteran TV broadcaster Karl Stefanovic has warned that mainstream media faces “huge problems” as shrinking advertising returns place pressure on talent salaries and production budgets. He said that he is open to talkback radio and explained why he is backing podcasts.
In a candid and entertaining fireside chat with Maz Farrelly at Cairns Crocodiles, presented by Pinterest, Stefanovic revealed he launched the Karl Stefanovic Show—after three years of negotiations with his long-term employer Nine—because he craved more creative freedom and long-form storytelling.
Stefanovic said traditional television networks were confronting an economic reality that many on-air personalities had yet to fully appreciate.
“It was very apparent to me that mainstream media is going to face enormous challenges,” Stefanovic said. “No matter how big a personality or paid employee I am, I think all employees in mainstream media should be very aware and have the realisation that there are going to be diminishing returns of talent.”
Stefanovic has spent more than two decades in free-to-air television and believes that although legacy media businesses would continue to exist, the economics underpinning the sector have fundamentally shifted.
“I look at mainstream media now, and what these guys could do is go to everyone and say ‘we’ll give you one tenth of your salary’, and a lot of people would continue doing it,” he said.
“I just think that’s the cold, hard reality. Advertisers are looking for a return on their investments, as they should, and I don’t think they’re seeing it. So there’s less money to circle around, less money for production, less money for talent, and that’s a sad thing.”
Stefanovic contrasted the business models of television production with the lean operating model of digital content, and in particular, podcasting. His home studio set-up includes a $100 microphone and $3 dollar wind sock.
“I can go to Albury and do a two-hour live show, and it costs me $4,000,” said Stefanovic, who produced a special Farrar byelection episode. “It would have cost Nine probably $50,000 to $100,000 (to produce that for TV)…there’s challenges coming to the industry,” he said.
An antidote to ‘woke’
Stefanovic launched his podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show, just three months ago, and it has featured the likes of prominent right-wing politicians Pauline Hanson, Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and Clive Palmer. He has also had non-political guests, including radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands and neurosurgeon Charlie Teo. He would like to have Donald Trump, Jeremy Clarkson and Elon Musk as future guests.
His first episode, featuring Hanson (the idea to interview her came from a flaming margarita in LA), clocked up 330,000 views in three months, while an episode with radio Sandilands registered more than 150,000 views. In total, Stefanovic said his podcast videos have notched up more than 8 million views.
“About three or four years ago, I saw what was happening in the podcast world, and I saw the freedom of it. I saw the expression of it,” he said. “I had to be part of it because I love long-form interviews.
“I’m not afraid to go and do the topics that are difficult for free-to-air and legacy media to do anymore. In fact, I’m climbing into it, and I want to tell those stories because there are a lot of people who are disenchanted at the moment.
“We’ve had woke for so long, I feel like the country is in this state of flux and change, and I want to reflect that…[to give a voice to] the people who feel like they don’t have a voice at the moment.”
Stefanovic said the show has also allowed him to show more of his authentic personality than was possible on free-to-air television.
“Digital, actually, this medium… allows me to square… I can’t do that on free-air, so it’s been a fucking revelation,” he said. “It’s really free.”
While he remains “gainfully employed” and “committed” to Channel Nine and the Today Show, Stefanovic admitted he was open to eventually moving into talkback radio.
“I probably will do radio, and I will more than likely just dip my toe in the water to see if I like it before I even think about going to do breakfast radio,” he said.
“This show right now is my biggest priority outside of my commitments with Channel Nine, because I just think there’s so much room for growth. It’s only just getting started.”
