Karl and Peter Stefanovic’s axing leaves Nine’s 2019 flagship show line-up in tatters
Karl Stefanovic was sensationally dumped from the Today show on Wednesday barely 24 hours after his brother Peter was dumped from the weekend version leaving the Nine Network’s flagship program without an anchor and their 2019 line up in tatters.
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The Nine Network’s plans for 2019 were in tatters on Wednesday night after the newly merged company sensationally axed its one-time golden boy Karl Stefanovic from its flagship breakfast show.
Stefanovic’s dumping as Today host after 14 years came barely 24 hours after his younger brother Peter, another high-profile presenter and reporter, was let go by Nine — and days after Karl celebrated his second marriage.
When the news broke in Sydney, the 44-year-old former Gold Logie winner was on his honeymoon in Aspen with new wife and friends including James Packer, whose father Kerry reigned over the one-time all-conquering network.
The Daily Telegraph understands James Packer is “incandescent with rage” about the decision to cull his close mate and the mess Nine finds itself in.
The move comes just weeks after the high-profile takeover of Fairfax Media by Nine and the Telegraph understands there could be more big scalps to come. Nine bosses got in touch with Stefanovic’s manager on Wednesday morning to say Stefanovic was gone.
The presenter was then told of his sacking via phone call just hours before it was made public.
With one year left on his bumper $3-million-a-year contract, he will continue to helm his side project This Time Next Year.
“Nine and Karl Stefanovic have agreed it is time for him to step off the Today show,” a statement from news director Darren Wick read.
An announcement about a revamped Today line-up and format is expected in the coming weeks.
But despite the joint press statement suggesting the decision for Stefanovic to move on was mutual, it is believed things are far from cordial behind closed doors.
Stefanovic’s lavish Mexican nuptials to 34-year-old shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough are believed to have been the final nail in the coffin, with executives fed up with his inability to keep his personal life out of the spotlight.
However, the Fairfax-Nine deal has also played its part.
Sources say Nine management has been compiling a dossier of his potential contract breaches, which is understood to include a deal with WHO Magazine for his wedding pictures.
The publication is owned by Nine’s rival Seven West Media.
It is also believed Nine bosses instructed Stefanovic to urge his ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn to stop her damaging public outbursts about the star, particularly after her latest tirade in which she suggested the network had paid off Georgie Gardner to keep quiet following the Ubergate scandal earlier in the year.
At the time, the two Stefanovic brothers were caught badmouthing the network and their colleagues, including co-host Gardner, while Peter’s phone was on speaker during an Uber ride.
Karl’s swift downfall can be traced back to his split from wife of 21 years Thorburn in September 2016.
Already the subject of scrutiny, his reputation was further tarnished when he went public with his new girlfriend Yarbrough — 10 years his junior — just five months later.
With his popularity among the crucial female demographic waning, the Today show was hit with plummeting ratings.
Two weeks ago then Today boss Mark Calvert “stepped down” amid a year of disastrous numbers for the program.
Just five days later, ACA boss Steve Burling was announced as Calvert’s replacement.
An insider said that for several weeks Stefanovic was a “dead man walking”, after efforts to rehabilitate his image and shift the focus back to the ailing show failed.
Originally published as Karl and Peter Stefanovic’s axing leaves Nine’s 2019 flagship show line-up in tatters
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