It appears the breakfast TV treadmill simply isn’t burning enough calories for Karl Stefanovic anymore. The veteran journalist and Today show anchor is stepping out of the studio lighting and into the wild west of independent digital content with the launch of The Karl Stefanovic Show.
Fresh details from the production team reveal a project that Stefanovic has been brewing for years. He claims to have a ‘curious beast’ living inside his head.
Rather than seeing a specialist, he has decided to create a YouTube channel.
Targeting the ‘Man-Sized’ Whitespace
Keshnee Kemp, founding partner of the show and Managing Director of August One Marketing Agency, says the project addresses a gaping hole in the Australian market. They are targeting a ‘whitespace’ in content created specifically for men.
The show will cover everything from geopolitics and sport to masculinity and fringe theories.
Karl has a ‘curious beast’ living in his head
“Karl consumes content on those topics himself,” says Kemp. “He’s only speaking to people he genuinely finds really interesting. This is authentically Karl at his very best.”
Live, dangerous, and interactive
The show adopts a two-pronged attack each week. Viewers can expect one long-form, pre-recorded conversation with a major guest, followed by a LIVE Sunday episode designed to be interactive.
The producers promise a “never-been-done-before” live format across YouTube and social platforms, allowing the audience to grill decision-makers directly.
The Karl Stefanovic Show will launch with a live conversation with Pauline Hanson
The show premieres this Sunday, January 25, with a high-stakes, live interview with Pauline Hanson at 2pm AEST. If Stefanovic’s promise of an “unleashed beast” holds true, putting the One Nation leader in front of a live YouTube chat stream is certainly one way to test the fence.
The following Wednesday features UFC champion Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski. Future guests include Hollywood producer Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction), celebrity chef Curtis Stone, and New York Times bestselling author Jefferson Fisher.
A ‘Curious Beast’ on the loose
For Stefanovic, this is a chance to loosen the tie. “I am free and independent to talk to the people that I’m curious about,” Stefanovic said in a promotional reel. “It’s unscripted. It’s unfiltered. Uncensored.”
Stefanovic is no stranger to the spotlight or the heat.
Over two decades as the face of Nine’s Today show, he has covered everything from the Bali bombings to the Canberra bushfires and he’s weathered his fair share of controversies, from ‘Ubergate’ to intense tabloid scrutiny of his private life.
Karl Stefanovic with wife Jasmine
Yet, he also possesses a knack for steering the cultural conversation.
Long-time viewers will remember his famous experiment where he wore the same blue Burberry suit on air for an entire year to highlight sexism in media. It was a stunt that proved he can navigate the news cycle with a sharp, satirical eye.
Producers are banking on this existing digital footprint to drive the new venture.
“He also has an incredibly large audience on YouTube who found him there,” Kemp noted. “We’re looking forward to now creating content for those audiences.”
Whether you are ready to ‘walk on the wild side’ or not, the beast is officially off the leash!