Channel Nine is reportedly keeping an eye on its long-term succession plans for the Today Show following Karl Stefanovic’s recent move into podcasting.
Stefanovic, 51, has spent 21 years fronting Nine’s flagship breakfast program and last week debuted his new podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show.
According to a TV insider, the expansion into podcasting has prompted internal conversations about the show’s future, with executives said to be considering Channel Seven talent David Woiwod as a possible replacement.
“I hear [Nine] executives have their sights set on David,” the insider told New Idea.
“He isn’t just a seasoned journalist- he’s proven to be a hit with viewers ever since he joined Weekend Sunrise.”
Woiwod, 42, began his journalism career in 2011 at Network 10 as a political reporter before relocating to London in 2015, where he worked as a producer at the Associated Press and as a freelance journalist at Sky.
He later returned to Australia to join the Seven Network in Melbourne, working as a reporter on Sunrise before moving overseas again as Seven’s US correspondent from 2020 to 2024.
In 2024, Woiwod returned home and took on a co-hosting role on Weekend Sunrise alongside Monique Wright.
He has stepped in for Sunrise host Matt ‘Shirvo’ Shirvington on multiple occasions, including during the Christmas break- a move insiders say highlights the network’s confidence in him.
“What makes him (David) even more appealing is the fact that he isn’t afraid to take the mickey out of himself and has a cheeky sense of humour similar to Karl,” the insider said.
“So if they could get him (David), it could be a ratings hit.”
Another drawcard for Woiwod is his rumoured close friendship with Today co-host Sarah Abo, 39, a dynamic the insider believes would be “extremely watchable on screens”.
Last year, Seven once again dominated the breakfast television ratings, with Sunrise and Weekend Sunrise outperforming Today for the 22nd consecutive year.
Despite the ongoing ratings battle, Stefanovic remains the highest-paid breakfast television presenter in the country, reportedly earning a staggering $3 million a year, according to The Australian.
That figure far outpaces his breakfast TV rivals, with Sunrise hosts Shirvington and Natalie Barr reportedly earning around $1 million each annually, while Abo is said to earn about $800,000.
While Stefanovic- who is set to surpass former Sunrise star David Koch as Australia’s longest-serving breakfast TV host this year- is understood to be staying put at Today for the foreseeable future, he has openly acknowledged his desire to explore new avenues in media.
“I’m a student of the media,” Stefanovic told News.com.au.
“I’ve been consuming, you know, podcasts and vodcasts for a number of years. And in my mind, I’ve been going, I want to do that, but where is my niche?”
The debut episode of The Karl Stefanovic Show on Sunday, featuring an hour-long live interview with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, has attracted significant attention since its launch.
At the time of writing, the episode had amassed nearly 200,000 views, more than 12,000 likes and 3062 comments.
Stefanovic’s second interview with Australian UFC star Alexander ‘The Volk’ Volkanovski dropped on Wednesday and had garnered 9,200 views at the time of writing.
The show’s dedicated YouTube channel has more than 15,500 subscribers, while its Instagram account boasts 55,400 followers.
The podcast is also available on Spotify, which does not publicly disclose listening figures; however, it currently sits as the top Australian program on Spotify’s daily updated Trending Podcasts chart.
SkyNews.com.au has contacted Channel Nine for comment.