NRL supremo Peter V’landys has revealed that he wants Today Show star Karl Stefanovic to have his own rugby league TV show on Channel 9.
V’landys and Stefanovic are both currently in Las Vegas for the kick off to the NRL season.
‘It’s so evident in Vegas how popular Karl is with the fans,’ V’landys told News Corp.
‘They love him.
‘I think he’s the perfect person to be an ambassador for rugby league on Channel 9.
‘I’m going to talk to them about it. They’re a broadcast partner and they want to do a lot more to promote the game.
NRL boss Peter V’landys has revealed that he wants Today Show star Karl Stefanovic (pictured) to have his own rugby league TV show on Channel 9
V’landys says he will talk to Nine about potentially organising the TV show
‘Karl knows his rugby league and the more footy programming we can get is only going to help grow the game.’
It comes after Stefanovic put rumours to rest about any likelihood of Samantha Armytage taking Sarah Abo’s hosting seat beside him on Today.
The TV veteran told Stellar magazine he would sooner retire from helming the flagship breakfast program than work alongside another new co-host.
‘I don’t see Sarah ever being replaced. And I genuinely have no interest in working with anyone else,’ he said earlier this month in the wide-ranging interview.
Channel Nine was reportedly plunged into back-to-back crisis meetings in December, following the decision to bring Sam, 48, onto the Today show as a summer fill-in co-host.
The network’s move sparked outrage among long-time staff, with insiders alleging the decision created tension behind the scenes and left many feeling snubbed.
Armytage, 39, replaced longtime host Ally Langdon on Today in January 2023, and according to Karl, he has no interest in partaking in any further hosting re-brands.
Stefanovic has been with the breakfast show for 20 years and in that time has seen many co-hosts—including Tracy Grimshaw, Jessica Rowe, and Lisa Wilkinson—come and go.
Stefanovic is currently in Las Vegas for the kick off to the NRL season
Stefanovic recently put rumours to rest about any likelihood of Samantha Armytage taking Sarah Abo’s hosting seat beside him on Today
‘In this game, there’s stuff you have control of and there’s stuff you don’t. At any point on any given day, I can be replaced. The show is bigger than I am,’ he said.
‘That’s not a slight on Sam. I’ve done 20 years, and I don’t know about going through all that with another person. I’m closer to the end than the start. That’s the reality.’
All eyes were on the defected Channel Seven star over the summer holidays, as Armytage warmed up the hosting seat for a two-week fill-in stint alongside weatherman Dan Astley.
‘There have been crisis meetings back-to-back since Sam was signed,’ a source told Woman’s Day in December.
A well-placed insider told Daily Mail Australia that Nine had a strategic reasoning behind Sam’s appointment.
‘Let’s not pretend this isn’t about ratings,’ they said.
‘If Sam manages to pull Today out of the shadow of Sunrise, even for a week, the network will see it as a win. For Sam, it’s about proving she’s still the queen of breakfast TV.’
If the motivation was to test the ratings waters for Sam, though, results were tepid at best.
According to the OzTam ratings, most viewers were still tuning into Sunrise—Sam’s old stomping ground—during her fill-in stint on Today.
Meanwhile, new kid on the block David Woiwod has been co-hosting with Monique Wright and on December 18 pulled in 979,000 total viewers to Today’s 754,000.
The dynamic duo extended their lead the following day, claiming victory with 980,000 viewers to just 749,000.
‘Everyone was talking about Sam being on Today… but no one was watching,’ a well-placed source told Inside Mail that week.
‘Meanwhile, the ratings for [Sunrise hosts] Woiwod and Mon have been amazing. It shows people are ready for something fun and new. Sam’s very much yesterday’s hero.’
‘It’s all been a bit of a trainwreck, all the publicity and dramas that they’ve cooked up around Sam, and yet people genuinely just aren’t that interested,’ a Sunrise staffer added.
Stefanovic has spent an incredible two decades with the Today show
Sarah was recruited to 60 Minutes in 2019, bucking the trend of internal appointments to Nine’s coveted breakfast show.
She moved from Melbourne to Adelaide, back to Melbourne, and then Sydney, from Ten to SBS to Nine—to establish her name and reputation to score the hosting gig alongside Karl.
Stefanovic described himself as ‘so fortunate’ to be working alongside her.
