Shock claims Karl Stefanovic will be 'axed'

A sensational report claims Today Show host Karl Stefanovic is set to be ‘axed’ and replaced in the new year, after off-screen dramas have seen the show’s ratings drop.

A source has reportedly revealed the host is “officially gone” even though his contract – worth almost $3 million – doesn’t expire until 2020, according to the Courier Mail.

“Top-level sources at Channel 9’s Willoughby studios say the embattled Today host is officially ‘gone’,’ the publication claimed.

While it seemed the network was sticking by Karl after his very public marriage bust-up, it’s claimed the 44-year-old will likely ‘be replace in the new year’.

The host split from wife of 21 years Cassandra Thorburn in September 2016, before confirming his new romance with 33-year-old Jasmine Yarbrough, who he had been dating since December.

Karl’s ex Cassandra Thorburn opened up about the impact the breakup had on her and the three children last month, which saw Karl’s image targeted again.

“Last year, I declared that Karl really was dead to me, a man I no longer know, but the children still have their father,” she told The Australian Women’s Weekly. “The flip-side of that is I feel like we’re dead to his family and almost anyone from our old life.”

Karl however quickly hit back in a statement saying he was ‘disappointed’ and that “nothing could be further from the truth”.

But it became clear at this years TV Week Logies that Karl Stefanovic was no longer ‘TV King’.

The annual celebration of Australian television had once been made for him, jam-packed with humorous antics and golden moments from the year gone by.

But this year the Today host appeared to squirm his way through the glitzy bash, taking a back seat from the limelight and instead becoming the butt of a major joke.

At the time David ‘Hughesy’ Hughes had fun pointing out to the Gold Coast audience, Karl had been struggling to hold onto his ‘TV King’ crown ever since that Ubergate scandal earlier in the year.

It’s claimed that Today Extra host David Campbell, 45, is ‘top of the list’ of possible replacements for Karl.

However, despite the Courier Mails claims, executive producer Mark Calvert is standing by Karl refuting the claims.

He described the host as a ‘bloody great broadcaster’, while stating, ‘we are the first to acknowledge our ratings are not as good right now as we would like.’

Karl’s manager is also said to have denied the accusations.

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