Nine eyes female line-up at Today after sacking of Karl Stefanovic

Nine is secretly considering a ­female line-up on Today next year after yesterday axing Karl Stefanovic from the morning show.

Nine may replace Karl withanother woman.

Nine is secretly considering a ­female line-up on Today next year, after yesterday axing Australia’s ­highest-paid television personality, Karl Stefanovic, from the morning show.

Stefanovic’s dumping com­pleted a dramatic 24 hours at Nine that left brothers Karl and Peter — until recently two of the network’s biggest stars — on the TV ­sidelines.

The Australian understands Nine is contemplating a different version of Today in 2019, as an option to win back a female audience that has shrunk dramatically because of wall-to-wall coverage of Karl Stefanovic’s private life and his unpopularity with women.

Adelaide newsreader Brenton Ragless, filling in on the show this week, is also still considered an ­option to replace Stefanovic.

INQUIRER: Long-serving Today show host now yesterday’s man

Nine sources say the shock decision to axe Stefanovic is part of a bigger move to “blow the whole thing up” in 2019.

Stefanovic was yesterday in America’s most luxurious skiing mecca, Aspen, where he and new wife, Jasmine Yarbrough, have been spending time on their honeymoon with billionaire James Packer.

In a brief statement put out by Nine, Stefanovic admitted to the toll the year had taken. “It’s been a tough time,” he said. “Thanks for hanging in there. I look forward to seeing you in another capacity at this great network soon.”

It is understood that a change of heart by Nine chief executive Hugh Marks sealed the end of ­Stefanovic’s 14-year career with Today.

Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson on the Today set in 2010.

Stefanovic’s lavish, three-day wedding to Yarbrough, a shoe ­designer, broke the resolve of Marks and other executives to keep him on Today. While he has a $2 million-a-year contract with the network until the end of 2020, his future role is uncertain.

Sources warned more bloodletting is ahead as Nine attempts to kickstart its breakfast line up. The Australian understands several other Today identities, including newsreader Sylvia Jeffreys (who is Peter Stefanovic’s wife), sports presenter Tim Gilbert and veteran entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins have their roles at Today “under review”.

While Jeffreys, Gilbert and Wilkins will likely stay with Nine, they may be redeployed to other roles. If Nine were to opt for a ­female pairing at the Today helm, it could involve current co-host Georgie Gardner along with either Weekend Today host Allison Langdon or the network’s Sydney weekend newsreader Deb Knight, who is currently standing in as Today host.

A female hosting duo would emulate Today on NBC in the US, following the termination of Matt Lauer a year ago. The program is now hosted by Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.

One Nine source said as reports from the wedding emerged two weekends ago: “His life is so far removed from that of his audience, he’s looking totally unrelatable.

“And a lot of comments keep coming in about the Uber conversation. Perception in our game is reality, and negative perception is death.”

Nine executives were blind­sided by stories that emerged from the wedding, at the end of a year in which Stefanovic had caused an array of surprises for Nine that started with the Uber conversation scandal in March, in which he was overheard criticising Gardner, Wilkins and network bosses.

Stefanovic with Jasmine Yarbrough at their wedding in Cabo, Mexico. Picture: Backgrid

Executives became increas­ingly irritated as media reports emerged from the wedding’s now infamous “Bundy bar”, along with candid pre-wedding photos of Stefanovic holding a bottle of rum, an interview in the Sunday Telegraph with Yarbrough and a deal with Who Weekly magazine to publish photos from the Mexican ­wedding.

Nine insiders said yesterday’s axing of Stefanovic had to happen to quarantine Today.

“It’s everything,” one said. “It’s the Bundy rum bar at the wedding. It’s the Who Weekly photos of the wedding. It’s the craziness of New Idea running stories about (Stefanovic’s ex-wife) Cassandra Thorburn getting stuck into Georgie Gardner.

“It’s the whole bushfire, and we need to get it away from the Today show, for better or for worse.”

Today was soundly beaten by Seven’s Sunrise this year, with its average daily audience in the five capital cities falling 15 per cent from 277,000 in 2017 to just 236,000.

This was seen as a backlash from the predominantly female audience against Stefanovic and there was a general feeling at Nine that Stefanovic had “lost his way”.

“The bosses are frustrated,” one insider said. “They’ve tried the hard line, they’ve tried the soft line, but he’s spinning in his own world. There’s a belief he needs to rest and reset. He needs a break from the noise and the drama. If he’s not on the show, there’s nothing to write about. There was no desire to move him on, and Karl’s genuinely liked. But we have got to do ­something.”

NBC’s move to a female line-up on the US Today paid immediate ratings dividends in the midst of the emerging “MeToo” narrative.

Karl Stefanovic’s manager Sharon Finnegan yesterday. Picture: Diimex

Nine believes having a combination of Gardner with Langdon or Knight — all of whom are working mothers — would resonate with Today’s female audience.

If Nine ultimately chooses to stick with a male-female hosting combination for Today, the un­assuming Ragless is seen as the clear frontrunner, while 2GB’s Ben Fordham and finance guru Ross Greenwood are considered other possibilities. However, Fordham has told colleagues he is not in a position to return to Today in a full-time ­capacity.

Nine is also thought to be planning to make the Today show less Sydney-centric, after the ABC’s News Breakfast, hosted by Virginia Trioli and ­Michael Rowland, made inroads into its Melbourne ratings, causing Today to lose its top slot in the city to Sunrise.

The Australian understands Nine is planning to insert some Melbourne personalities into the show next year to broaden its ­appeal.

Last night, Stefanovic’s former Today co-host Lisa Wilkinson messaged on Instagram: “Wishing @karlstefanovic_ all the best. ­Because when it was good, it was great …”

Stefanovic, meanwhile, will continue to host reality show This Time Next Year, because the 2019 version has been only half-filmed. For the sake of continuity, he will complete filming of the show, which features people who take on personal goals over 12 months.

Stefanovic has been Nine’s “human headline” for his personal life since 2016, including divorce from Thorburn and jetsetting holidays on yachts with Packer and glamorous international ­celebrities keeping him constantly in gossip columns.

The Uber scandal in March set the negative tone for Today in 2018, seeming to turn the tide of public opinion against him.

Stefanovic’s phone call with his brother Peter (overheard in the back of an Uber), in which he ­described new co-host Gardner as “wishy-washy’’ and a “fence-sitter”, killed off any hopes of Nine winning the year in breakfast.

The conversation was revealed in New Idea in March.