Channel 7 lashes David Koch over Footy Show appearance
DAVID Koch has been told to pull his head in by Channel 7 management after the Port Adelaide president’s stinging tirade against the AFL and his own employer.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News . Followed categories will be added to My News.
DAVID Koch has been told to pull his head in by Channel 7 management after the Port Adelaide president’s stinging tirade against the AFL and his own employer. But his job on Sunrise is safe for now.
Rumours that Kochie faces the axe from the show went into overdrive after the TV veteran went rogue during a family holiday, voicing fury over the AFL’s handling of the Sam Powell-Pepper controversy.
Koch failed to inform the network of his plans to release his inflammatory statement, and the first they knew of it was when he was heard on Eddie McGuire’s Triple M breakfast radio show, according to sources.
RELATED: KOCH HITS BACK ON AFL POWELL-PEPPER FINDING
DAVID KOCH: AFL ‘RAILROADED’ PORT POWER
EDDIE MCGUIRE: CLUBS ‘SICK OF BEING TREATED LIKE FRANCHISES’
In Thursday’s statement, Koch accused the league of using the Power midfielder to “rebuild its reputation with women because of misdemeanours of its own former executives” before reserving the right of his club to sue Seven over its reporting of the issue. Network insiders say Seven bosses were livid that Koch had publicly declared that Port came before his Sunrise family.
Matters were made worse when a dishevelled and unshaven Koch appeared that night on The Footy Show, on rivals Channel 9, to discuss the issue with McGuire and Sam Newman.
While Seven is staying tight-lipped about Koch’s renegade behaviour, behind closed doors it is understood that the top brass were fuming and made that clear to a largely unrepentant Koch.
The Herald Sun understands the breakfast TV host has been told he should think very carefully about any future appearances on The Footy Show.
Koch did not seek permission to appear on The Footy Show, but instead told Sunrise producer Michael Pell that was what he would be doing, during a conversation about his return to work next week. The mood of Seven chiefs would have improved considerably yesterday as the ratings came in.
Despite the appearance of Koch, the big-budget Footy Show was beaten for the second week in a row by Seven’s Front Bar.
A Seven spokeswoman would not be drawn last night on how Koch’s comments had been handled internally. She said Koch had not been banned outright from doing The Footy Show again. But the Seven spokeswoman addressed the growing rumours that Weekend Sunrise host Basil Zempilas is poised to step into Koch’s Sunrise seat, saying there were no plans for Koch to leave the show.
A source told the Herald Sun that Koch was contracted to Sunrise until at least the end of the year.
MORE HERALD SUN NEWS:
YOUNG FOOTBALLER FALLS TO RARE HEART CONDITION
Brewery puts name on global sporting stage
It’s the little brewery that could. A South Gippsland craft brewer is putting its name on a motorsport event with a global audience of more than 100 million people.
West Gate Tunnel build set to close key Docklands route
Brace for more traffic pain linked to the West Gate Tunnel project with a key route in the Docklands set to close.