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Today host Karl Stefanovic has acknowledged he felt snubbed by Channel Nine after his bid to host the network’s election night coverage was rejected.
Stefanovic, 47, and his breakfast TV co-anchor Allison Langdon had pitched themselves for the high-profile role, but Nine turned down their offer and instead chose newsreaders Peter Overton and Alicia Loxley.
Speaking to Sam Armytage’s Something to Talk About podcast on Wednesday, Stefanovic said he was ‘upset’ by the snub because he and Langdon, 43, had worked tirelessly interviewing the candidates throughout the election campaign.
‘I was upset’: Today host Karl Stefanovic (left, with Allison Langdon) has acknowledged he felt snubbed by Nine after his bid to host the network’s election night coverage was rejected
‘I was upset that I didn’t host the election … It’s kind of like doing all the preliminary games for two years and then missing out on the Super Bowl,’ he told the former Sunrise co-host.
Rumours of Stefanovic and Langdon’s snub emerged earlier this month in an article by The Australian’s Media Diary, but these reports were never confirmed until now.
Explaining why he waited until after the election was over to discuss the snub, Stefanovic said: ‘It’s not something you need to articulate in a particularly public fashion: ‘I was really sh**ty.’ No, no.’
Not happy: Speaking to Samantha Armytage’s Something to Talk About podcast this week, Stefanovic said he felt wounded by the snub as he and Langdon had worked tirelessly interviewing the candidates ahead of election night
Options: The network rejected their offer, however, and instead chose newsreaders Peter Overton (left) and Alicia Loxley (right) for the gig, according to The Australian’s Media Diary
‘When you’ve been in broadcasting as long as I have, you’re going to get some gigs, you’re not going to get them all. You think about it for a while and you go, other people make those decisions … I’ll just stay at home and [brush it off].’
Despite being denied the opportunity to lead Nine’s election night broadcast, Stefanovic said he was ‘very proud’ of the way he and Langdon had covered the polls in the lead-up.
‘And while I might be upset, you’ve got to put your big boy pants on and go to work the next day and get on with it,’ he added.
Confession: ‘I was upset that I didn’t host the election … It’s kind of like doing all the preliminary games for two years and then missing out on the Super Bowl,’ he told the former Sunrise co-host
Nine’s election coverage was hosted by Overton and Loxley, who led an expert panel to break down all the action as Anthony Albanese’s Labor government triumphed in the voting booths.
The all-star panel featured the likes of Julie Bishop, Bill Shorten, Jane Hume, Kate Ellis, Matt Canavan and Chris Uhlmann.
Loxley, who presents the afternoon news in Melbourne, stepped in to replace 2GB host Deborah Knight, who fronted Nine’s 2019 election coverage with Overton.
Qualified: On May 2 it was reported that Stefanovic and Langdon had ‘made a pitch’ to host the coverage, citing their experience interviewing politicians almost daily on the Today show
Proud: Despite being denied the opportunity to lead Nine’s election night broadcast, Stefanovic said he was ‘very proud’ of the way he and Langdon had covered the polls in the lead-up. Pictured is Stefanovic interviewing former Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg (right)
The broadcast ranked beneath ABC and Channel Seven in the ratings, bringing in 397,000 viewers with an additional 384,000 tuning in for the vote count coverage.
On May 2 it was reported that Stefanovic and Langdon had ‘made a pitch’ to host the coverage, citing their experience interviewing politicians almost daily on the Today show.
Their grillings of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese have frequently set the news agenda during the federal election campaign.
Tough questions: Their grillings of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese (pictured) have frequently set the news agenda during the election campaign
Nine’s election coverage was hosted by Overton and Loxley, who led an expert panel to break down all the action as Anthony Albanese’s Labor government triumphed in the voting booths. The all-star panel featured the likes of Julie Bishop (pictured)
However, Nine decided Overton and Loxley were a safer bet, with a network source telling Media Diary: ‘We have an abundance of talent at the network who could have done a great job.’
It comes amid reports Stefanovic and Langdon have signed a lucrative new contracts at Nine, and are now each earning about $1.5million a year.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia last week, a senior Nine source said the pair would remain hosts of the program, which was beaten in the ratings by ABC News Breakfast for one week this month.
Cha-ching! It comes amid reports Stefanovic and Langdon have signed a lucrative new contracts at Nine, and are now each earning about $1.5million a year
Langdon, who paired up with Stefanovic on Today in January 2020, signed a new multi-year contract last year and her co-host is contracted until well into 2023.
‘There’s no changes,’ the source told Daily Mail Australia of speculation anyone on the program would be replaced. ‘No one is going anywhere. It’s bulls**t.’
Stefanovic and Langdon meanwhile appeared on The Kyle and Jackie O Show last Wednesday to say they were not worried about Today dropping to third place behind the ABC and the Seven Network’s Sunrise earlier this month.
The co-anchors said it was normal for breakfast television ratings to go up and down, and one bad week was no cause to panic.
Today’s five-city metro average viewing audience for the week commencing May 2 was 176,000. Sunrise, hosted by David Koch and Natalie Barr, pulled in 241,000 viewers followed by ABC News Breakfast with 195,000 viewers.
Not worried: Stefanovic and Langdon meanwhile appeared on The Kyle and Jackie O Show last Wednesday to say they were not worried about Today dropping to third place behind the ABC and the Seven Network’s Sunrise earlier this month
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