Stefanovic Considered Leaving Nine for ARN Opportunity

was reportedly in talks to jump ship from Channel Nine to ARN months before the radio network axed its flagship The Kyle & Jackie O Show.

, News.com.au reported on Friday that the network approached the breakfast television star following the success of his recently-launched podcast.

The Karl Stefanovic Show has proved to be a huge success, with its first season generating more than 7.9 million listeners and 49.5 million views on and .

The podcast was launched in January, almost three months before ARN officially terminated The Kyle & Jackie O Show.

Its popularity is said to have caught the attention of ARN chief executive Michael Stephenson, who was previously the head of sales at Nine. 

It is claimed the effort to entice Stefanovic to ARN was part of a wider plan by Stephenson and chief content officer Kerry Elstub to strengthen its roster of talent across the network, rather than just being known for  and .

Elstub also has a long history with Nine, previously leading the network's digital platform, as well as taking on senior roles across such shows as A Current Affair and Today.

The publication claimed that given ARN's interest in Stefanovic prior to Sandilands' and Henderson's terminations, it is likely that the network is not chasing him to fill the coveted breakfast slot.

It was suggested that he could be enlisted to front a drive show for the network, given that the contracts of current hosts Will McMahon and Woody Whitelaw expire at the end of the year.

Given Stefanovic's early success in the podcast space, it was also claimed that he could be brought in to shake up the network's podcast arm.

Daily Mail reached out to ARN, who declined to comment. 

It comes as former KIIS star Kyle Sandilands teased an exciting new project to fans on Thursday.

With speculation swirling about what form that might take, insiders claimed to News Corp this week that Sandilands has designs on becoming Australia's answer to Piers Morgan.

It comes as former KIIS star Kyle Sandilands teased an exciting new project to fans on Thursday