Jun 26, 2026 – 6.24pmIt was after 2am on Friday morning when Nine Entertainment chairman Peter Tonagh signed off on a deal to part ways with the Nine Network’s biggest star, Karl Stefanovic. Both sides signed a non-disclosure agreement. It had been a long day. And a long week.It had also been a long six months. What had been an increasingly uncomfortable relationship between the veteran journalist, affable larrikin and long-time Today show host and his employer, exploded into controversy on Tuesday, when Stefanovic published the latest interview on his solo media play, The Karl Stefanovic Show.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Sam Buckingham-JonesMedia, marketing and telecommunications reporterSam Buckingham-Jones is the media, marketing and telecommunications reporter at The Australian Financial Review. Send tips about the media and the telco sectors via encrypted messaging platform Signal (@samebjones.18) or email.Fetching latest articles
Mask on, mask off: Karl Stefanovic embarks on his biggest challenge
Lawyers at ten paces, late-night negotiations. Karl Stefanovic’s exit from Nine played out like a television show. Now comes the hard part: making money.
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