{"id":760078,"date":"2026-06-25T20:34:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/760078\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T20:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:34:20","slug":"karl-stefanovic-to-leave-nine-immediately-after-network-axes-multimillion-dollar-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/760078\/","title":{"rendered":"Karl Stefanovic to leave Nine \u2018immediately\u2019 after network axes multimillion-dollar contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Karl Stefanovic will leave Nine \u201cimmediately\u201d after the network struck terms for a deal to axe his lucrative contract amid the fallout from a disastrous podcast interview with far-right British activist Tommy Robinson.<\/p>\n

In an email to staff sent on Friday, Nine chief executive Matt Stanton said it was \u201cthe right time for Karl to move on from the Today show and Nine\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"KarlKarl Stefanovic and Tommy Robinson chat during the now-deleted podcast episode.Karl Stefanovic Show<\/p>\n

\u201cKarl has been a fixture on our screens for over two decades, so we know this is a significant change for our viewers and all of us here at Nine, however it\u2019s the right time to make it,\u201d Stanton said.<\/p>\n

Fighting back tears, Stefanovic\u2019s co-host Sarah Abo told viewers the show had received mixed feedback to the scandal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve spoken to a lot of people over the past few days, have varying emotions. They\u2019re upset, they\u2019re sad this is all happening, and we all wish it wasn\u2019t ending like this and that we could say goodbye to Karl our friend in a different way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Nine executives finalised the terms of Stefanovic\u2019s departure early Friday morning, drawing to a close a near two-decade run hosting Today <\/a>and ending his status as Australia\u2019s highest-paid television presenter.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether Nine will pay out the estimated $1 million balance of Stefanovic\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n

\"TodayToday show co-host Sarah Abo announces Karl Stefanovic will not be returning to the program.Nine<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the network said Nine and Stefanovic had agreed it was \u201cno longer possible for him to continue hosting the Today show at the same time as his independent podcast\u201d.<\/p>\n

In another email to staff designed to avert claims the decision represented an intrusion on freedom of speech, Nine director of news and current affairs Fiona Dear said the network had a rich history of interviewing controversial figures and noted journalists have an obligation to ask difficult questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of what makes us tick is trying to understand why people are the way they are, or think the way they think,\u201d she said. \u201cWe welcome open debate and challenging norms with constructive, balanced arguments.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs journalists, we play a critical role in society to question, challenge, and hold people to account regardless of where they come from or which political party or views they represent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KarlKarl Stefanovic (left) spent nearly 20 years hosting the Today show. Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n

She also said this week\u2019s drama had been \u201cchallenging\u201d, particularly for the Today show team. \u201cIf you need any support, myself and my leadership team are here for you,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

She also pledged to share details of Today\u2019s new hosts soon given Abo is due to go on maternity leave shortly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all worked tirelessly to build a news and current affairs brand built on trust and respect and we will always fight to uphold that,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n

Stefanovic\u2019s interview with Robinson<\/a> went live on Tuesday afternoon but was removed from YouTube<\/a>, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Instagram less than 12 hours later.<\/p>\n

The Today host did not interrogate any of Robinson\u2019s claims, but instead told him he admired his \u201ctenacity\u201d and \u201ccourage\u201d in \u201ctrying to stand up for what you believe is right\u201d in a jovial conversation lasting almost an hour.<\/p>\n

Stefanovic also threw his arm around Robinson, told him he \u201cloved\u201d him, and called outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer a \u201cwanker\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nine agreed to let Stefanovic pursue the fledgling independent podcast The Karl Stefanovic Show as part of a deal to cut his pay going into 2026. He reportedly still earned more than $2 million a year from the network.<\/p>\n

The Robinson production infuriated senior Nine executives, who were blindsided by Stefanovic\u2019s choice of interview subject and stunned by the way the Nine host embraced him on video.<\/p>\n

Stanton, Dear, streaming and broadcasting managing director Amanda Laing and director of television Michael Healey and other executives have been locked in meetings at Nine\u2019s North Sydney headquarters since the video was published.<\/p>\n

While the Robinson podcast triggered this week\u2019s blow-up, Nine officials had become tired of Stefanovic\u2019s behaviour since he launched the podcast in January.<\/p>\n

Stefanovic\u2019s apology in March for taking part in Nine\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine campaign angered management, as did his interview with controversial former television chef Pete Evans. In that episode, Stefanovic said mainstream media would \u201cnever do this interview\u201d because it was \u201ctoo soft\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Karl<\/a><\/p>\n

He was also photographed last month wearing a cap with the words \u201cZero f—s\u201d, and issued an abusive statement to the ABC\u2019s Media Watch program, which was exploring the media\u2019s sometimes-cosy relationship with controversial neurosurgeon Charlie Teo. \u201cCharlie Teo is a great f—ing Australian,\u201d Stefanovic told the program. \u201cLeave him the f— alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the billionaire business mogul and former Nine owner James Packer defended Stefanovic<\/a> and criticised the company\u2019s handling of the saga.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was that bad,\u201d Packer said of the Robinson podcast.<\/p>\n

Packer, who sold his controlling stake in Nine to private equity in 2007, has been friends with Stefanovic for more than a decade. The television star stayed at Packer\u2019s multimillion-dollar Bondi apartment following his separation from his former wife in 2016 and has spent time on his luxury yacht, IJE.<\/p>\n

With his future at Nine over, Stefanovic has also pulled out of his scheduled appearance on his new radio show with Eddie McGuire on Friday.<\/p>\n

Stefanovic and McGuire were supposed to host an episode of their show The Long Weekend<\/a>, which was to stream on radio station Gold and Nine\u2019s platforms.<\/p>\n

Sources familiar with the matter said there were conversations between Stefanovic and ARN about his future with the radio network, which settled its lawsuit with former host Kyle Sandilands<\/a> this month.<\/p>\n

Nine is the owner of this masthead.<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"BevanBevan Shields<\/a> is a senior writer, and former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":760079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-760078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/760079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}