Reports Channel Nine will sack Karl Stefanovic this week

The Sunday Telegraph quote a Channel Nine insider as saying the 44-year-old “is officially ‘gone’”.

Karl’s contract at the station, worth a reported $3 million, isn’t set to expire until 2020, but the paper says he is “likely to be replaced in the New Year”, with bosses expected to break the news to him this week.

Karl’s tumultuous divorce from his wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn, subsequent whirlwind engagement to much-younger model Jasmine Yarbrough, and leaked recordings of him slamming co-host Georgie Gardner have all contributed to his sinking popularity.

Former host Lisa Wilkinson defecting to Channel Ten after news broke she was earning less than Karl is also said to be a factor in the show’s decline.

Today’s female viewership has noticeably declined, with the ratings dropping off from September 2016 – the same month Karl was first pictured with his new girlfriend.

Media analyst Steve Allen told The Sunday Telegraph that female viewers “basically now think he is an a** hole”.

“And who could blame them really.

“Here you have his ex-wife who supported him and raised his kids and she’s left out in the cold while he is off with his younger girlfriend in various exotic locations on holidays every other week.

“For Nine to think that there is any other reason viewers are off the show is, to me, just complete denial.”

Last week, Today suffered its worst ratings figures in 12 years, attracting an average metropolitan audience of 199,000, compared to Channel Seven’s Sunrise with 268,000.

Personalities tipped to replace Karl on the show include Today Extra host David Campbell and Sydney radio presenter Ben Fordham.

Channel Nine, along with Karl’s management, said last week there were no plans to remove Karl from the role.

 

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Images: Channel Nine / Getty

Written by Hayley