Gossip Queen: Footy Show or not, Nine tipped to keep Sam Newman on books
SAM Newman is set to stay at Channel 9 despite setting off another round of media speculation about his future on The Footy Show.
Fiona Byrne
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HEADLINE magnet Sam Newman is tipped to have a future at Channel 9 even if The Footy Show doesn’t.
Newman set off another round of media speculation about his future on this week’s episode when he kicked off The Footy Show with a personal message to viewers about his possible future with the production.
SAM NEWMAN: IF THE FOOTY SHOW GOES, I GO
MICK MOLLOY: I’D HAVE SAM ON THE FRONT BAR
His message, which admittedly would have been more effective if it had been shorter than the nine minutes it ran for, has definitely galvanised Nine into making a call on the future of the show by next Thursday’s Grand Final edition.
The smart money is on it not returning, but Nine is expected to try and keep Newman in the fold.
His contract ends early next month.
Although polarising, he is a unique talent who is most at home on live TV. It would be interesting to see him part of a panel show that did not focus on football.
He would also be perfectly suited to own the space interviewing legends of footy. He played with, or knows, most of them and well-produced packages could easily be included in Nine’s new footy offerings.
What is unclear is how the network honchos have digested Newman’s personal message, although he did speak with Nine management before the show outlining what he was going to say.
Nine is understood to have six options under consideration for its Thursday night offering and it has not ruled out fresh footy-focused content appearing elsewhere in its schedule.
Eddie McGuire’s JAM TV is contracted to produce the Thursday night show next year.
Chris Judd and Brendan Fevola remain contracted to Nine for 2019.
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