Stefanovic eyes polarising podcast play as TV turns off

Broadcaster Karl Stefanovic might have made his final appearance at Nine, and experts say an exit will allow him to cash in on a booming podcast sector fuelled by polarisation.

The network reportedly decided to cut ties with its longstanding Today show host on Wednesday after the release of a now-deleted podcast interview with far-right figure Tommy Robinson, who has been accused of fuelling violent anti-immigration protests in the UK.

The decision to reportedly ditch Stefanovic was not entirely surprising, with the host moving away from his playful breakfast larrikin persona to embrace a more controversial role as a podcaster, the University of Sydney’s Catharine Lumby told AAP.

“We’re living in a very unhinged world, where polarisation is rife, driven by social media and their algorithms and that includes podcasting more broadly,” Professor Lumby said.

“What’s really fashionable at the moment is a lot of shouting and you see that on the left and on the right. 

“The rise of Pauline Hanson is an index of that, of that polarisation in Australian society. It may well be that Karl’s tuned into that and thinks that’s a way to be relevant.”

The host of the Nine Network’s flagship Today show is yet to issue a statement since he interviewed controversial anti-Islam figure Tommy Robinson, saying he admired Robinson’s “tenacity” and “courage”.

The almost-hour-long episode of The Karl Stefanovic Show, which is run independently of Nine, was published on Tuesday evening but was pulled down by the following morning.

However, the episode was resurrected on YouTube by Pauline Hanson, who Robinson praises several times during the interview.

Stefanovic described Robinson as one of Britain’s “most controversial public figures” in a segment at the beginning of the podcast. 

Journalism expert Denby Weller said Stefanovic was likely to continue moving to the right, following other broadcasters who had used their traditional media profiles to build audiences in that space.

“He’s been saying things for years now that have had a really strong appeal to centrist, right-leaning people, and more recently to far right-leaning people,” the Swinburne University of Technology researcher told AAP.

“It mirrors what we’re seeing in politics at the moment with a lot of politicians, particularly far right-leaning politicians, who are also moving away from mainstream media reporting on their work at all.”

Nine issued its strongest statement about Stefanovic’s contentious foray into podcasting on Wednesday, saying it was taking his most recent episode seriously. 

“The Karl Stefanovic Show is a completely independent production,” a Nine spokesperson told AAP earlier on Wednesday.

“Nine has no involvement, including in the guest selection and other editorial processes. 

“However, Nine is taking this matter seriously.”

The silence on Thursday from Stefanovic was again as anticipated, according to Dr Weller.

“I’m speculating, but I imagine there was probably some pressure from Nine for him to remove the content,” she said.