Peter Stefanovic set to move back to newsroom after year of controversy
Peter Stefanovic will be out of contract with employer Nine at the end of the month leaving him free to jump ship to a rival network — if only a rival network wanted him.
Confidential
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Peter Stefanovic will be out of contract with employer Nine at the end of the month leaving him free to jump ship to a rival network — if only a rival network wanted him.
The younger Stefanovic has not been re-signed by Nine, possibly spurring reports last week he is set to be dropped as host of Nine’s Weekend Today program and sent packing back to the Nine newsroom to reflect on a bad year marked by the Ubergate controversy and poor ratings at Weekend Today.
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Nine subsequently denied reports Stefanovic has lost his Weekend gig, a spokesman telling media Stefanovic was on holiday hence his absence from the chair.
An insider at Nine has further denied a whisper that Nine bosses had taken a phone call from counterparts across town at the Seven Network assuring them Seven has no interest in poaching 37-year-old Peter or his higher profile older brother, Karl.
Four years ago Karl Stefanovic memorably embarked on protracted talks with Seven about jumping ship to that network.
He later used Seven’s lucrative offer to improve his deal with Nine, becoming the highest paid man on television — a situation that has hurt Nine’s bottom line and piqued envy among top-tier talent on both networks.
In the year that was, Weekend Today, hosted by Stefanovic Jr and Ali Langdon, was beaten by Weekend Sunrise, hosted by Basil Zempilas and Monique Wright, in every week of official ratings. Weekend Sunrise attracted 267,000 (metropo national all people figures) to Weekend Today’s 236,000.
Originally published as Peter Stefanovic set to move back to newsroom after year of controversy