Mason\u2019s exit on Friday.<\/a><\/p>\nAtkinson on Monday morning said it was a \u201cpleasure\u201d to be taking on hosting duties.<\/p>\n
\u201cSport is in my veins. From growing up on rugby league, swimming and cricket in country Queensland, to playing Aussie Rules and tennis as a schoolboy, playing and working in rugby union as an adult, and working on netball and the Olympics in the media, I feel connected to every variety of sport,\u201d Atkinson said.<\/p>\n
Atkinson paid tribute to his two Weekend Today co-hosts Alison Piotrowski and Lizzie Pearl.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only are Ali and Lizzie exceptional professionals, but they have also challenged me to be a better broadcaster and we have become close friends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe past 10 or so months on Weekend Today have been some of the most enjoyable of my career to date and I\u2019m eternally grateful for the experience of sharing the desk with Ali and Lizzie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nine\u2019s Director of Morning Television Steve Burling said Atkinson\u2019s \u201clove of sport runs deep and he is the perfect fit to join Today\u201d. <\/p>\n
During her final address on Friday morning, Mason said her commitments had steadily been growing and \u201csomething had to give\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had to make the decision as to what I do when I come back next year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, juggling all my NRL commitments, Today show and the new baby as well \u2026 something had to give.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t be coming back to the show. I\u2019ve absolutely loved my time here. We have the best audience and the best team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been such a fun two years. I\u2019ve had the best time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mason\u2019s depature from Today brings to four the number of those to have left the beleagured show – following Karl Stefanvovic, Sarah Abo and popular weather presenter Tim Davies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Today show has named Michael Atkinson as its new sports presenter, days after Danika Mason bid farewell…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":933130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[499891,377404,465325,403310,499889,499904,499885,499888,499892,499905,499882,404002,38310,499883,64,499899,63,304621,499876,127988,23812,8849,19049,134,499900,499896,39598,499894,499906,499890,499877,499886,13307,63619,237325,13052,13053,499898,311482,381011,499879,9736,499875,187436,155207,499878,159,2633,131306,588,4031,427763,499897,499893,499887,434136,484813,378533,460394,386885,364771,499895,499884,499903,393515,162504,499902,499880,376555,60939,93188,499901,499881,24080,45809,9119,427,381028,156837],"class_list":["post-933129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-s-depature","tag-s-director","tag-s-exit","tag-s-love","tag-s-sports-presenter","tag-a-pleasure","tag-a-better-broadcaster","tag-a-schoolboy","tag-a-well-known-sports-commentator","tag-ali-and-lizzie","tag-all-my-nrl-commitments","tag-an-adult","tag-atkinson","tag-atkinson-said-atkinson","tag-au","tag-aussie-rules-and-tennis","tag-australia","tag-close-friends","tag-country-queensland","tag-danika-mason","tag-date","tag-days","tag-duties","tag-entertainment","tag-every-variety","tag-exceptional-professionals","tag-friday","tag-friday-atkinson","tag-her-commitments","tag-her-final-address","tag-his-two-weekend-today-co-hosts-alison-piotrowski-and-lizzie-pearl","tag-its-new-sports-presenter","tag-last-week","tag-mason","tag-michael-atkinson","tag-monday","tag-morning","tag-morning-television-steve-burling","tag-my-career","tag-my-time","tag-my-veins","tag-netball","tag-new-today-show-presenter","tag-newswire-news","tag-next-year","tag-popular-weather-presenter-tim-davies","tag-rugby-league","tag-rugby-union","tag-sarah-abo","tag-sport","tag-star","tag-such-a-fun","tag-swimming-and-cricket","tag-the-beleagured-show-following-karl-stefanvovic","tag-the-best-audience","tag-the-best-team","tag-the-best-time","tag-the-decision","tag-the-desk","tag-the-experience","tag-the-media","tag-the-most-enjoyable","tag-the-new-baby","tag-the-new-today-co-host","tag-the-number","tag-the-olympics","tag-the-past-10-or-so-months","tag-the-perfect-fit","tag-the-role","tag-the-show","tag-the-today-show","tag-the-weekday-slot","tag-the-weekend-co-host-role","tag-today","tag-today-show","tag-tribute","tag-tv","tag-two-years","tag-weekend-today"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933129","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=933129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/933130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}