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More reports fuel Karl return to Today

This time chatter suggests Hugh Marks backs change.

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A new report suggests Nine CEO Hugh Marks has thrown his support behind the idea of Karl Stefanovic returning to Today.

The Australian claims Marks is behind change provided Karl takes a big paycut (good luck with that).

Since TV Tonight first floated the duo of Stefanovic and Allison Langdon it continues to gain momentum in media circles. The very next day Langdon featured heavily at Nine Upfronts.

A Langdon swap from Weekend Today could see Georgie Gardner move to Saturdays & Sundays, allowing more time with family. The unexpected factor may be the departure of Today Extra‘s Sonia Kruger from Nine to Seven, tipped to be announced today.

Stefanovic’s contract at over $2m a year is understood to have one more year to run.

Last week Today hit an all-time low during survey.

17 Responses

  1. So more obnoxious buffoonery with Karl behaving like a petulant, smart alec? I thought that was what got him sacked in the first place and made the show so unwatchable? Just more of the same then.
    No wonder I have not watched Today in years, Sunrise in decades and thank God for ABC News Breakfast. where they don’t treat viewers like fools and behave like a pack of idiots on a sugar rush.

  2. I don’t understand why Georgi gets all the blame for the poor ratings. From memory I don’t think Karl and Deb were rating all that well after Lisa left.

  3. 9 should look to move Today to Melbourne – point of difference between it and Sunrise.

    Also they could look, down the track to having an outside broadcast studio set up like Sunrise. David Jones is moving from the Bourke Street Mall by mid 2020. 9 could grab some ground floor space there and have a studio for Today in the Bourke Street Mall – trams passing by. Very Melbourne.

  4. Does Karl really want the 3am starts after a year off… If is backfires for him it will be extra hard to repair the name….
    Honestly I would be poaching some new/fresh talent from SBS or ABC or regional TV just to bring some diversity to the table.
    Studio 10 should be considering this also (3 white blonde women and 1 white man everyday/ Get in Narelda Jacabs or Lee Lin Chin a few days a week). Have the networks taken a walk down the street to see the people that make up Australia?

      1. I’m part Aboriginal myself so I welcome diversity but I think Brooke does a poor job of presenting entertainment – if they’re revamping the lineup they need to move her elsewhere. I personally love Alison Langdon and she would be brilliant partnered with Karl or Ben Fordham.

  5. Makes sense. The ratings are terrible and he is still getting paid for not doing much so make him work for it. If Sonia goes it frees up a place for Georgie to move to. Leave Deb there and give her a pay rise to put up with Karl.

  7. Today has had it’s day. As already said and as I have said in the past. the set is boring. they need to move with the times a new studio, street level like Sunrise. I don’t think loosing Karl was the problem. It was loosing Lisa.

    Whilst Karl is a great journalist, when it comes to the banter side of things he is often very immature. this doesn’t suit the show. I remember as a kid watching Today when I’d be at my grandparents house. It was a proper news program with a bit of professional silliness thrown in.

    They need to recapture what it was that made Today so successful and at the same time bring the show in to the present day.

  8. Jayne Azzopardi for the Today Extra chair. Karl Deb & Tom for Today. If Karl is not available then put David Campbell in the seat with Deb & let Dickie Wilkins loose on Today Extra & give it an entertainment focus with live acts.
    A wildcard is luring Matt Moran from Seven for the Today chair. It worked with Lisa.

  9. I hope he comes back but ratings don’t improve! The format needs changing. The set looks old. More opinion and discussions on topics. It’s not that hard.

  10. I’m sorry but weren’t the ratings the problem when Karl was dumped in the first place ?
    Female viewers were not exactly falling over themselves for Super K following his messy break up and then the Three Amigos Wedding … flaunting off the wealth and conspicuous consumption of a bunch of fabulous no-bodies and their seemingly blessed Network lives ?
    Well we know how all that turned out don’t we, especially with the stench of ” Uber-Gate ” still emanating from deep inside the Willoughby bunkers.
    Short memories in those marble-lined corridors I’d say.
    This is not fixing the problem Mr Marks and Co , it’s just a band aid solution to a stupid casting decision.

  11. The lesson learnt here is that people who complain n whinge make the loudest noise, but doesn’t mean they speak for the majority.
    Positive ppl don’t troll , therefore the support isn’t as loud as the hate..

  13. He’s not the solution to their problem. They need to address the poorly put together show. The segments are difficult to watch and are cringeworthy. It’s not the hosts fault it’s the producer of the show. They need to change the direction of it.

  14. What kind of unambitious, uncompetitive business are they running? Ratings were terrible with Karl, just because they got worse after he left isn’t a reason to go back to him. Best case scenario ratings go from diabolical back up to terrible. They should be taking risks on new things that provide a path back to being competitive. Glad I’m not a shareholder.

  15. Bringing back Karl may be good for Karl (or perhaps not) but l feel the issue is more to do with the show itself and the direction of it. Need to rehash segments and the general flow. Stop repeating the same news half hourly, add in regional News segments for those outside cities, etc. 3 hours is a long duration and repetitive news and segments gets hard to handle. I know not everyone watches over the hours but even over an hour it’s hard to cop.

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