Following reports Today host Karl Stefanovic is going to get the sack following two years of negative publicity and a slump in the breakfast show ratings, the presenter has broken his silence.
The story was reported in The Sunday Telegraph and quoted a Channel 9 insider saying Stefanovic will be fired this week and won’t be returning to Today in the new year.
Taking to Instagram, Stefanovic broke his silence by sharing a photo of himself enjoying his weekened with fiancee Jasmine Yarbrough, brother Peter and friend Chris Waller.
He captioned the snap:
“I’m incredibly grateful for the family and friends I have in this world. It’s all that matters really. I’m so proud of them.”
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Karl’s breakup with his ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn and subsequent rebound with Jasmine, who’s almost a decade his junior, as well as the embarrassing public trashing of his co-host Georgie Gardner, has seen the female viewership of Today fall dramatically.
The female audience once made a huge percentage of Today’s ratings, but “basically now think he’s an a**hole”, according to media analyst Steve Allen.
“And who could blame them really,” Mr Allen added.
“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.”
The show’s ratings took a dive in September 2016, around the same time Stefanovic was first pictured with Jasmine.
Things didn’t improve when Karl and his brother Peter were recorded slagging off his co-host Georgie.
Lisa Wilkinson leaving Channel 9 for Channel 10 also hurt the ratings.
Channel 7’s morning show, Sunrise, recorded an average metropolitan audience of 268,000 compared to Today’s 199,000.
Frontrunners to fill Karl’s chair include David Campbell, who hosts Today Extra, and Ben Fordham, who regularly fills in for the presenter.
Image: Christopher Pearce/Getty Images for GQ Australia
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