In the words of Georgie Gardner, this morning’s edition of the Today Show ushered in “a new look” with host, Deborah Knight, officially replacing Karl Stefanovic.
Joining her were fellow new faces Tony Jones, Tom Steinfort and Brooke Boney, who replaced Sylvia Jeffreys, Richard Wilkins and Tim Gilbert in a controversial shakeup, which saw Gardner as the only remaining host from 2018 still sitting behind the Today desk.
However, according to Woman’s Day, the reason for the mass changes could be linked to Channel 9’s cost-cutting measures, with the publication reporting that the cost of the entire new Today lineup as less than Karl Stefanovic’s $2 million a year salary.
“Yes, they needed to do something radical to save what many have thought was a dead-in-the-water show, but it was also a brutal cost-cutting exercise,” an anonymous source said.
“The big stars they got rid of were all on inflated salaries, which the network can no longer afford.”
Take a look at the new Today Show lineup:
Top Comments
I watched about 10 minutes of it. Deb and Georgie are credible journalists. However, they are saddled with a range of presenters with uneven experience. Brooke Boney (a very inexperienced person) needs to stop with the fake smiles. She is the weakest link with zero personality for an entertainment reporter.
Will there be an article about how this "new look/revitalised" team just got absolutely smashed in the ratings? 69ish thousand less people than Sunrise.
They're probably busy trying to invent an angle that makes the ratings failure the fault of Karl Stefanovic and his "lavish wedding".
Probably.