After a disastrous year for Karl Stefanovic, tongues are wagging as to who will replace the long-standing presenter when his time on the Today show is over.
With Karl’s eye-watering, six-million-dollar contract thought to be coming to an end in just a few months, network bosses have been left scrambling to save the future of their failing breakfast show.
‘They never really expected it to come to this,’ a source tells New Idea.
‘But with one PR disaster after another – his on-air rants, messy divorce and the leaked Uber phone conversations – ratings have plummeted, and something has to change.’
Emergency meetings have been called by the network to consider every possible scenario after Karl’s rant on the Logies last week, where he took aim at Channel Seven who he claimed would not be flying their top talent, including Sunrise presenters Sam Armytage and David Koch, to the Gold Coast in an extraordinary on-air tirade.
‘I hear our opposition isn’t coming this year,’ he said in the controversial on-air tirade.
‘What, they’re too good to support the local industry? To support their own colleagues who have been nominated for their hard work?
‘Well, we don’t want you there anyway. You’re all boring!’
The father-of-three was labelled a hypocrite when in September last year he claimed he would ‘boycott’ the Logies after the Victorian government said they were withdrawing its bid to host this year’s event.
‘I’m telling you right now if the Logies move from Melbourne. I will not be going,’ he said at the time.
However, it seems now the 43-year-old has changed his tune and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by his competitors.
‘Bit rich, Karl. First you said you’d boycott the Logies if they moved from Melbourne. Now you’re slamming Sunrise for not attending?’ Sunrise executive producer Michael Pell wrote on Twitter.
Related: Karl Stefanovic’s Today replacement revealed
And it seems Karl’s erratic behaviour on air isn’t paying off for Nine, with Sunrise continuing to beat Today in the ratings all last week.
Allegedly, the low ratings have network bosses nervous and Karl’s future is up in the air.
Rumour has it, popular Ten host Grant Denyer is being considered as a replacement.
With his current role at Family Feud ending after the show was ‘rested’, Grant is looking for a new gig to supplement his current show Game of Games and, having been a regular face as Sunrise weatherman for years, he knows the breakfast TV ropes.
Karl previously had his sights set on the hosting role at the popular evening show A Current Affair, and his management team had always assumed the next round of negotiations would be focused on making that dream a reality.
‘After 13 years of waking up at 4am, he really wanted something with more sociable hours,’ says the source.
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea – out now!
Wentworth is back for another season, and the Binge List podcast team have plenty to say about the return of Foxtel’s hugely popular prison drama. Plus, we talk about Seven’s hit reality show First Dates, and reveal new details about how The Doctor Blake Mysteries is coming back, in an interview with star Nadine Garner. We also judge the returns of The Affair and Poldark, and cast the spotlight on Stan’s hidden gem, Claws.
Listen below, or on iTunes: http://po.st/syE3JF or OMNY: http://po.st/jmKRrQ
