Rodger Corser tipped as Karl Stefanovic’s replacement at Nine
A calculated move year in the making could see Karl Stefanovic replaced with this very familiar face of Aussie TV. See who it is here.
A proposed reboot of Nine’s ailing Today show could see the departure of a band of rusted-on Karl Stefanovic loyalists, including established regulars Richard Wilkins and Danika Mason.
As Nine continues its search for a replacement for the axed Stefanovic, TV insiders have opened up about a secret plan which, if executed, would see Today relocate to Melbourne where it would undertake a major overhaul.
Such a plan would see the breakfast show rebuilt around Today co-anchor Sarah Abo, a Melburnian and serious news journalist, from the start of 2027, say insiders.
The Melbourne relocation plan was originally proposed by legendary former Nine CEO and salesman Sam Chisholm some 20 years ago, about a year into Stefanovic’s bumpy early tenure.
It’s claimed the proposal is once again on the table as nervous Nine bosses review and consider all options in their quest to make the nation’s longest running breakfast program competitive again.
With the program’s disillusioned audience switching off in droves and the heavily pregnant Abo set to take maternity leave within the month, Nine is presented with the perfect “anchorless-storm” during which to pull out all stops to reinvent the program.
In the 80s and 90s, Today was the benchmark Australian breakfast TV show, but now it continues to languish in second place behind Seven’s seemingly unbeatable Sunrise, whose lead over the program recently doubled (as of June 30 it had 456,000 viewers, compared to 226,000).Nine may have sacked Stefanovic to preserve advertising, but broadcast revenue is still very much at stake and a dominant Seven will likely bank the lion’s share of it in the morning timeslot thanks to Sunrise’s stranglehold.
A move to Melbourne would not only rejuvenate Today, but it would also make it more discernible, post Stefanovic’s departure, from Sunrise, which is also recorded in Sydney.
Such a move would likely prompt across-the-board staff changes and the recasting of the program, a Nine insider said this week.
Among Today show regulars said to be under review is veteran entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins, Stefanovic’s longtime party wingman.
Karl Stefanovic departs Nine & Today Show
Wilkins, who has a close association with Stefanovic, was previously sidelined by Nine.
In December 2018, the veteran entertainment reporter was moved sideways to the less prestigious Today Extra and Weekend Today programs after Stefanovic was sacked from Today following the Ubergate scandal. Brooke Boney succeeded Wilkins at Today.
Sports presenter Danika Mason, who made international headlines in February after slurring her words and babbling about iguanas during a live cross to Today from the Winter Olympics in Italy, is another who could be sidelined in the reshuffle, said sources who maintain the incident didn’t endear Mason to news executive Fiona Dear.
Mason may have conceived her own escape plan, however, after announcing her pregnancy to ex-NRL player and fiance Liam Knight on July 1.
“Today has sadly become, over time, the Karl Stefanovic show. Because of Nine’s inability to address this inequality, this talent imbalance, it has ended up with a program with one dominant personality surrounded by a support cast of beta personalities,” said a television executive.
“All of the cast, including Abo, will need to be re-marketed, repositioned, as a result. Only then can Nine hope to make inroads against Sunrise. It’s got a big job ahead.”
Nine declined to comment when we asked if it was looking to move Today to Melbourne.
It also refused to confirm when Abo will start her maternity leave, perhaps because, in Stefanovic’s absence, network bosses are hoping she’ll remain on air until her cherished bundle arrives.
A Melbourne iteration of the show could potentially see Abo joined by Stefanovic understudy Tom Steinfort, co-anchor of Nine’s Melbourne nightly news bulletin.
Melbourne music reporter Zan Rowe, previously with the ABC, would be a strong and credible substitute for Wilkins, while former Weekend Today anchor Clint Stanaway is another Nine veteran who could step capably back into the newsreader or sports presenter role.
Official television ratings supplier OzTAM gives some 267,000 reasons as to why a move to Melbourne could work in Nine’s favour.
That’s the number of extra TV viewers who live in Melbourne, as compared to Sydney, according to VOZ, the database that measures the nation’s television “universe”.
Radio network ARN’s disastrous miscalculation concerning Sydney stars Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson in the southern capital amply demonstrated why it’s important Sydney radio and TV programmers don’t take the southern capital for granted – something Nine bosses have taken note of.
The Today show’s shrinking budget could, however, create obstacles to the plan, with Nine under pressure to conserve production crew and pool resources to economise the recording of Today, Today Extra and Weekend Today out of one Sydney studio.