Karl Stefanovic rumoured to be getting multi-year deal with pay rise despite Nine cuts
Nine's golden man Karl Stefanovic is reportedly in line for a pay rise with his proposed new multi-year deal.
Despite months of tension as the network endeavours to cut costs – with some broadcast stars said to see their salaries slashed going into the new financial year – The Australian reports the 50-year-old Today host will be earning a staggering $3 million annually under the proposed contract.
Stefanovic, whose co-host Sarah Abo reportedly earns $800,000 per year, had previously signed a reported $2.8 million deal in 2022.
The outlet claims executives were eager to retain Stefanovic, who was willing to walk if he received a lesser offer.
It's a different story over at Channel 7, where Sunrise has long beaten Today in the breakfast timeslot.
Despite their stronghold with viewers, hosts Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington are said to earn much less than Stefanovic, and are on around $1 million each per year.
Stefanovic's rumoured pay rise comes after Nine Entertainment signalled its intention to slash $100 million in costs by 2027 back in February.
According to its half-year results, the company was planning more restructuring as part of its 'strategic and cultural transformation.'
Nine let go up to 200 staff members, mostly from its print divisions, in July last year after Meta sensationally ceased commercial agreements with news outlets in Australia, which previously saw the tech giant pay news companies for their reporting.
Just two months later, it was reported Nine had a microscope on their big ticket stars, or rather, their jumbo pay packets, with stalwart Liz Hayes among those rumoured to be copping a pay cut at the time (Hayes quit the network earlier this year after 44 years).
More change came in January when the Nine Darwin bulletin was axed. Residents in the NT are now served the Queensland bulletin, while the Gold Coast-based bulletin scaled back from two newsreaders to one, with presenters Eva Milic and Paul Taylor splitting their duties across the week.
Elsewhere in entertainment, the network famously didn't renew the long-running game show Millionaire Hot Seat in 2023 (though that gamble has also paid off with Tipping Point dominating ratings), while Australian Ninja Warrior and My Mum, Your Dad were also put on ice.
It's been a turbulent period for broadcasters in Australia amid an unstable economy and a mass shift to streaming.
Most recently, Ten canned prime time current affairs program The Project. The final episode will be this Friday.
The network also revealed its reshuffled evening line-up, with game show Deal or No Deal moving to 7pm and 'the launch of a new national one-hour 6pm news, current affairs and insights program six days a week to complement 10's one-hour 5pm local news bulletins.'
'As a result of the changes, The Project will air for the last time on Friday, June 27, ending an incredible run of almost 16 years and more than 4,500 episodes,' Ten said in the statement earlier this month.
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