Karl Stefanovic and Eddie McGuire sign with Kyle and Jackie O’s old radio company and Nine

Broadcasters Karl Stefanovic and Eddie McGuire will host a three-hour new show on radio network Gold and Nine’s streaming platforms every Friday.

The Long Weekend, hosted by former Collingwood Football Club president McGuire and Stefanovic, the current host of Nine’s Today program, will broadcast from midday to 3pm starting on June 19.

The show will be aired live across broadcast and streaming radio, as well as via a video podcast on Nine’s streaming platforms 9Now and Stan. Nine is the owner of this masthead.

The deal is a coup for Gold’s owner ARN, which has lost its marquee breakfast talent Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson amid a bitter contract dispute. It also keeps Stefanovic inside the Nine stable amid widespread speculation about whether he will continue to host Today after the expiration of his current contract.

This masthead’s On Background column previously reported Stefanovic and McGuire were close to signing the deal.

Stefanovic’s future has drawn increasing attention since the launch of his own podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show this year, independently of Nine. He has used the show to interview numerous figures from the populist right, including Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce.

A statement from ARN said the show would also be distributed on social channels and on the iHeart streaming platform. ARN will also collaborate with McGuire’s media company to produce a new sport focused podcast series for iHeart.

The Long Weekend is one of the first shows to be broadcast over such a wide range of platforms in Australia and will cover news, sport and entertainment. ARN chief executive Michael Stephenson is the former chief sales officer at Nine. He left the company 18 months ago.

He has since hired a number of senior executives from the company, including chief content officer Kerri Elstub, and has now returned to his former employer for his biggest content deal since being appointed to the top job.

Nine sold its own radio arm to pub and pokies baron Arthur Laundy and his family in a January deal that was formalised this month. That could open a path to further collaboration with ARN.

Stephenson said the new show was an example of the strategy he is attempting to establish at ARN, moving away from linear radio toward premium, cross-platform content.

Nine streaming and broadcast executive Amanda Laing said Nine already had a deep commitment to audio through its podcasts and vodcasts. “It makes perfect sense for two of Nine’s talent to have their new show streamed on their home network,” Laing said in a statement.

A statement from Nine said the new show would not change the pair’s existing commitments to the network. McGuire hosts Footy Classified and the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

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