Lisa Wilkinson to host Sunday night current affairs show on Channel 10
SUNDAY night is about to become TV’s biggest battleground, with Lisa Wilkinson to host a beefed-up current affairs show to take on Nine and Seven.
Confidential
Don't miss out on the headlines from Confidential. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Lisa Wilkinson’s gutsy move is part of a new wave
- Host in stealth mode as Today take a gamble
- Wilkinson’s husband reveals ‘intense’ days
- Lisa Wilkinson: Her Today timeline
WHEN Lisa Wilkinson walked off the set of the Today show last Monday at 9am, she had no idea she was leaving the traditional home of breakfast television in this country, Willoughby’s studio two, for the last time.
It would be another eight hours before her agent would learn in a cursory 45-minute meeting convened by Channel 9’s CEO Hugh Marks that his client Wilkinson had been terminated without notice as the longest-serving female anchor of Nine’s 35-year-old breakfast institution.
There would be no gushy farewell video, no balloons, no love shown to the immensely popular host who for a decade had climbed out of her bed at 3am every weekday, kissed her three adolescent-then-teenage-then-young-adult children goodbye while they slept and fed the dog and cat before heading off to put her wide warm stamp on breakfast television.
A brief statement from Nine followed the meeting between Nine’s CEO and Wilkinson’s agent Nick Fordham: “We express our gratitude to Lisa for her 10 years with the Today Show and are disappointed we find ourselves in this position,” it read. “Nine will be going in another direction and will be considering our options in the coming weeks and months.”
Two hours later, at 7.56pm Monday, Wilkinson reacted on social media: “I’m sad to say that today was my last day on the Today show.”
The shockwaves soon reverberated through the media and around the country.
One question resounded: what had the media personality done to warrant her ruthless eviction from the program she had helped breathe new life into from 2007 and sustained against a backdrop of turbulence and controversy?
“Her manager has priced her out of the market.”
She hadn’t pleaded guilty to child porn offences like A Current Affair reporter Ben McCormack who Nine bosses had courteously given the opportunity to resign; she hadn’t been arrested in Beirut on alleged child kidnapping charges as had 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown and members of the 60 Minutes crew still employed by the network; she hadn’t faced a court on an indecent assault charge, later dismissed, like Nine’s evening news sports reader Cameron Williams; nor had she flashed her genitalia on air like The Footy Show’s notorious prankster Sam Newman, also still in Nine’s employ.
No, Wilkinson’s crime had to have been worse. Something so grave, so heinous she had to be shown the door immediately, wrenched from the homes of the television audience that loved her and the schedules of Nine’s lifeblood, its advertisers.
What had the 57-year-old mother-of-three done?
The answer, when it came, was simultaneously like a punch in the guts and a jubilant catharsis.
She had stood her ground during six months of protracted contract negotiations and demanded the television network pay her the same money it paid her co-anchor Karl Stefanovic, $2 million.
She wanted what Karl was having for breakfast. Her reported $1.1 million package no longer satisfied.
“This is not about pay parity,” Nine’s news boss Darren Wick, the man who had drafted the contract Wilkinson and her agent rejected months ago, said later that night. “Her manager has priced her out of the market. We have a good record of what we pay women here going back to Jana.”
“This is not about gender pay parity,” Nine’s CEO Marks said the following day. “We at Nine are big supporters of equality. We are doing a lot within our organisation to address inequalities that were here before.”
Yet for Wilkinson who, Nine later attempted to argue, did less work than Stefanovic and was less available to Nine’s digital and social platforms, it was all about pay parity.
Within an hour of Nine issuing its statement announcing the end of the relationship Wilkinson announced her stunning defection to Channel Ten.
The rival media company was eager to pay her precisely what Stefanovic was earning. In return they wanted her to do for them what she has done for Nine over the preceding decade - piggyback Ten’s brand on her own respected trusted and friendly marque.
The star had been in talks with Ten “for weeks”, said Ten sources.
News of the defection completely blindsided Nine.
“She has a great connection to the Australian public.”
Behind the scenes, the chairman of Nine’s board, former politician and federal treasurer Peter Costello, a co-panelist of Wilkinson and Stefanovic on Nine’s federal election coverages, was said to have been “livid”.
Over at Pyrmont, Ten’s executive couldn’t be more “proud”, as their press release stated, of their coup.
“Lisa has established her credentials as a leading figure in the Australian media industry. She has a great connection to the Australian public and a reputation that is second to none,” Ten’s Chief Content Officer Beverley McGarvey said.
Legendary television star-maker and heavyweight veteran news boss Peter Meakin was soon linked to the deal as the rumoured mastermind of the hijack plan.
Meakin, a consultant at Ten, had initiated talks with Wilkinson after approaching her to appear on Ten’s The Project on September 13. A former successful magazine editor of Dolly and Cleo, Wilkinson was well-placed to speak to the topic of Rebel Wilson’s successful defamation suit against Bauer Media, Wilkinson’s former workplace.
A well-placed source said Wilkinson will appear on The Project two weeknights.
Meakin last week confirmed he had phoned Wilkinson, a friend, to request her appearance on the show. He added he also sought permission from Nine’s news boss Wick who approved the outside cross.
The news legend who played a hand in shaping the careers of Jana Wendt, Liz Hayes, Jennifer Byrne, and Tracy Grimshaw among others had also been the man who recruited Wilkinson to the Seven Network’s Weekend Sunrise show in 2005.
He denied being the architect of Wilkinson’s new Ten deal.
“I wasn’t present during any of the negotiations,” he said cryptically, crediting McGarvey and Ten’s content business affairs boss Toni Skaife with doing the deal.
According to Ten insiders, the network plans “to change the TV game” in 2018 thanks to the backing of its new owners, America’s CBS, the producers and broadcasters of, among other things, the US’s prestigious 60 Minutes which last month recruited Oprah Winfrey as a contributor.
Nine had assembled a wish-list of prospective talent to replace Wilkinson.
Last week speculation was rife at Ten that Wilkinson, who Ten has confirmed as host of its The Sunday Project and a part-time panellist on The Project, will become Australia’s Oprah when she starts at the network from January.
A well-placed source said Wilkinson will appear on The Project two weeknights, one of which will be Friday, and also host a beefed up Sunday night primetime show that will look to address the audience swing away from the once unbeatable Sunday night news offerings 60 Minutes and Sunday Night.
As the shock impact resonated through media land, the inevitable conspiracy theories arose.
Had an opinion column penned by this writer and published in this newspaper on October 15 brought Wilkinson unstuck at Nine?
By Tuesday, Nine and Wilkinson’s management were accusing each other of leaking word of their contract impasse to me. The spat made the news pages of The Australian newspaper.
The truth is neither had.
It was a tip from an unrelated source noting Wilkinson’s absence from Nine’s glittering Up Fronts 2018 programming preview in Sydney on Wednesday October 7 that provoked my column Will Nine Finally Show Lisa Wilkinson the Money?
A little digging brought a second titbit - Nine had assembled a wish-list of prospective talent to replace Wilkinson.
Marks, it should be said, is no boofhead.
When it was put to Nine’s spokeswoman that there was a talent wish-list, it was quickly denied. My hunch that Wilkinson’s contract negotiations had stalled was emphatically denied by Wilkinson’s camp. Nine offered that “negotiations continue”.
Having spent more than 30 years working for a media company either owned or once owned by renowned media hard man Kerry Packer, Wilkinson has purloined much about the art of business negotiation from the boofy men who traditionally run the game and make the rules.
Marks, it should be said, is no boofhead.
It took former Nine CEO Eddie McGuire weeks to poach Wilkinson from the Seven Network’s Weekend Sunrise to Today in 2007 following the ultimate humiliating “boning” of her predecessor Jessica Rowe.
When she finally arrived it was on a contract with $800,000 – four times what her on-screen partner Stefanovic was reportedly earning at $200,000.
She arrived during a turbulent time and on the back of a year of damning headlines about Rowe and McGuire. One week after her signing, McGuire was moved on from his job. He would return to on-air duties only – “Not sacked” he told media.
By September 2007 Stefanovic’s friend David Gyngell, the then best friend of former Nine proprietor James Packer, was back in the CEO seat he had relinquished two years earlier.
Suddenly Stefanovic’s chances of a pay rise were looking up.
He could do what he liked. He was one of the boys.
Over the next eight years his pay would increase by 1000 per cent from $200,000 to $2 million.
By comparison Wilkinson’s would rise by just 36 per cent from $800,000 to $1.1 million.
From the moment she took her seat on the set of Today a sense of calm that had been missing since the departures of former hosts Steve Liebmann (host from 1981-1987 and 1990-2005) and Tracy Grimshaw (1996 – 2005) returned.
Wilkinson likely had a brilliant mentor in her close friend Liz Hayes, another former host of the program from 1986 to 1996.
Calmness she likely discovered was key, as was being prepared to do your own meticulous research in a medium where the production ranks were rapidly thinning.
Wilkinson proved a master of both and also of thinking on her feet and looking as though it was most natural thing in the world to sit next to a reeling drunk at breakfast time on national television.
To be fair Stefanovic was only drunk on air once, on the morning after the 2009 Logie Awards, but it highlighted the differences between two co-host’s styles and highlighted Nine management’s attitude to Stefanovic.
He could do what he liked. He was one of the boys.
At the boys turned on Wilkinson last week she could hold her head up knowing that at last she knew her value.
The Ten Network and a woman executive, McGarvey, had confirmed it.
She was worth $2 million.
She is of high value and the rules of the game have changed.
It didn’t matter that Nine had claimed Wilkinson didn’t deliver on social media. The fact is she delivers more content on social media than Stefanovic does and on a more regular basis with her Twitter and Instagram accounts. She’s prolific and constantly promoted Today.
It didn’t matter that Nine claimed she withheld access, stories and “rights” from its digital partners.
The fact is HuffPost.com reaches more unique browsers each month than does Nine’s 9Honey.com, the site Marks referenced in an interview with this writer. While someone behind the scenes might have been irritated Wilkinson had a Nine sanctioned association with HuffPost.com, the truth is she was promoting Nine to a broader audience via that site than it could reach on its own digital asset.
All that mattered was that Wilkinson, who was declining interviews last week, has had her suspicions confirmed.
She is of high value and the rules of the game have changed.
LISA WILKINSON: HER TODAY TIMELINE
LISA Wilkinson arrived in dramatic and controversial circumstances in 2007 and left the same way last Monday as either a victim of the Nine Network’s ruthless management style or as a triumphant defector to the Ten Network. Or as history will likely remember, both.
May 2007 — On May 6, 2007, Channel 9 announce incumbent Today show host Jessica Rowe would not return to the program from her maternity leave after a year in the job. Her departure capped a bruising 11-month period for Rowe after a news executive who was poached from 9 to Channel 7 revealed in an affidavit that Nine’s CEO, game show host Eddie McGuire, declared he wanted to “bone” (sack) Rowe due to her poor chemistry with co-host Karl Stefanovic.
On May 10, 2007, three days after Rowe’s departure, 9 announce it has hired the host of the Seven Network’s Weekend Sunrise program, Lisa Wilkinson, to the job. Wilkinson’s appointment announcement dramatically coincides with the on-air collapse of Rowe’s maternity leave fill-in, Kellie Connolly. One week later on May 17, CEO McGuire steps down (“not sacked” he later tells media).
September 2007
Former 9 CEO David Gyngell confirms he is returning to the job.
September 2008
Possibly frustrated that his female co-host is earning more money — she is said to have been hired on a $800,000 contract, four times the money offered Stefanovic on $200,000 — Stefanovic meets with rival Channel 7 boss David Leckie to consider opportunities across the dial. 7 later issues a statement after word gets leaks that Stefanovic dined with Leckie: “(Karl) expressed his desire to join us in a private meeting with David Leckie. Karl saw his future being at Seven. He signed an agreement on terms. Nine matched that offer. We have moved on. Quickly.”
A back-pedalling Stefanovic, who Leckie would say cried during their talks, later denied the meeting had taken place but confirmed negotiations: “Seven made a great offer but ultimately I am loyal to Nine and the Gyng. I’m more than happy here. It’s as simple as that.”
His loyalty is believed to have cost Nine around $500,000 bringing his contract up to around $700,0000.
December 2008
Wilkinson and Stefanovic start hosting Carols by Candlelight. They host together until 2012 when David Campbell replaces Stefanovic and continues in the role until 2016.
May 2009
Stefanovic appears drunk on air after the Logie Awards.
2010
Wilkinson joins Stefanovic and Laurie Oakes as the hosts of Nine’s election coverage from Canberra.
2011
After strong campaigning from Channel Nine, Stefanovic wins two Logie Awards — Gold for Most Popular Personality and Silver for Most Popular Presenter. He is made a contributor to Nine’s prestigious 60 Minutes and also is appointed host of A Current Affair Sunday edition. The newspapers speculate he has had a contract hike to $850,000+.
April 2012
Wilkinson again joins Stefanovic and Laurie Oakes as the hosts of Nine’s election coverage.
October 2012
As Today’s ratings inch closer to Seven’s Sunrise ratings, a new executive producer, Neil Breen, is appointed to replace outgoing EP Tom Malone who moves to 60 Minutes.
December 2012
Wilkinson’s contract due for renewal.
2013
Rumours circulate Wilkinson is frustrated network bosses are favouring Stefanovic over her.
In their drive to boost his news credibility, possibly to help him make a future move to 60 Minutes, Stefanovic is given the lion’s share of political interviews. He repeatedly interviews PM Tony Abbott, Wilkinson is left to do the light lifting. She is capable of more and demonstrates it when she does finally score an interview
September 2013
Wilkinson walks off the set of Today for 45 minutes after Stefanovic has a dig at her. After Stefanovic plugs an upcoming appearance on The Footy Show, Wilkinson follows suit and promotes her own appearance reading a news bulletin on Nine.
Stefanovic takes a swipe: “You didn’t have to do that.” She retreats to her dressing room furious.
It is the first outward sign of tensions building behind the scenes under the stewardship of EP Breen.
Soon after Breen is moved out of Today and replaced by current EP Mark Calvert. The ratings reflect the instability.
Meanwhile rumours surface that no-nonsense newsreader Georgie Gardner is fatigued by Stefanovic’s increasingly blokey antics on the show.
May 2014
Gardner leaves the program after seven years saying she wants to spend more time with her children.
November 2014
Ben Fordham leaves to concentrate on radio 2GB commitments
August 2015
Following an approach from Arianna Huffington, co-founder of HuffPost Australia, an offshoot of The Huffington Post, Wilkinson is offered the role of Editor-At-Large of the local publishing outfit. Nine CEO Gyngell encourages her to take the job and gives permission to the association.
September 2015
Stefanovic starts shooting his own tonight show, The Verdict, airdate 2016. It survives one short season.
November 2015
Gyngell steps down as CEO Nine after negotiating Wilkinson’s latest and last contract at 9, worth a reported $1.1 million.
Nine’s outgoing CEO refuses to sign off on Stefanovic’s new contract before departing and leaves it to incoming CEO Hugh Marks. Complicating Stefanovic’s contract are talks he is once more having with 7. Stefanovic is offered $2 million to jump ship to 7. Chairman Kerry Stokes signs off on a deal said to have included, at Stefanovic’s request, a zero interest home loan.
December 2015
Stefanovic re-signs with Today for three more years at $2 million-a-year plus bonuses, a fee that is twice Wilkinson’s new $1.1 million-a-year income.
July 2016
Nine’s election coverage hosted by Wilkinson, Stefanovic and Laurie Oakes.
That same month CEO Marks appoints the former editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly Helen McCabe as the Head of Lifestyle for Nine Entertainment Co’s lifestyle verticals 9Honey, 9Coach and 9Kitchen. She answers to Nine Entertainment Co’s chief digital officer Alex Parsons.
During her six-year tenure at The Weekly, McCabe favoured Georgie Gardner and Samantha Armytage as covergirls and featured Wilkinson on the cover only once, in February 2010.
Throughout 2016 Today consistently out-rates its rival Sunrise in the big cities. Nine claims the year in October. Seven threatens legal action and claims Sunrise won the year.
September 2016
Stefanovic leaves his wife and Today ratings plummet. He takes two months off.
July 2017
Stefanovic launches his latest prime time show, This Time Next Year.
Approx May 2017
Nine bosses Hugh Marks and Darren Wicks begin new contract talks with Wilkinson.
July 2017
Wilkinson breaks arm in Italy while on holidays. Reports later surface that Marks is angry she gives the story to HuffPost.com over Nine.
August 2017
Wilkinson signs as ambassador to Nutra-Life
September 2017
Helen McCabe promoted to role of Digital Content Director reporting to Marks.
September 13, 2017
Wilkinson does a cross to Channel 10’s The Project as a guest commentator to discuss Rebel Wilson’s defamation suit against Bauer Media. Nine’s Darren Wick gives permission for the interview.
October 7, 2017
Wilkinson and her husband Peter FitzSimons renew their wedding vows. She posts it to her social media account. It is said to have irritated Nine’s digital execs.
October 11, 2017
Wilkinson misses Nine’s Up Fronts 2018 season programming launch due to it coinciding with her second honeymoon. A 9 spokeswoman said there was no need for her to return from her holiday in Byron Bay for the event, confirming Wilkinson had offered.
October 16, 2017
5pm Monday, October 16 — Channel Nine boss Hugh Marks convenes a meeting with Wilkinson’s agent Nick Fordham to say they are not renewing Wilkinson’s contract. Time has expired. They refuse Wilkinson’s request to close the gender pay gap.
They will pay her contract to the end of the year. She will not be allowed to appear on the show and farewell viewers or colleagues.
7.56pm — Wilkinson Tweets: “I’m sad to say that today was my last day on Today show” and attaches a statement from 9 CEO Hugh Marks confirming: “We have been unable to meet the expectations of Lisa Wilkinson and her manager.” Marks the next day puts a dollar figure on those alleged expectations, $2.3 million.
9pm — A statement from the Ten Network announces “Lisa Wilkinson Joins Network Ten.” It states she will host The Sunday Project from January 2018 and join the panel on The Project part-time.
October 17, 2017
The following day Marks states Wilkinson’s HuffPost.com contract was in conflict with 9’s plans to access all “rights” to Wilkinson across its digital and social platforms including, he specifies, 9Honey.com, digital boss Helen McCabe’s baby.
He states also that Wilkinson’s commercial deal with HuffPost.com and others (not stated but understood be Nutra-Life, Audi and Canon) limit Nine’s access to Wilkinson who he states asked for $2.3 million in pay negotiations, not $2 million. The $2.3 million was disputed by a source close to Wilkinson yesterday.