You can’t fault Nine CEO Hugh Marks – he’s a man that sticks to his guns.
The network’s boss has tossed pleasantries to the curb, reinstating he has zero regrets over Lisa Wilkinson walking away from Today after their falling out over her request to receive equal pay to her male counterpart, Karl Stefanovic.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he remarked, “I don’t regret it at all. It was exactly the right decision for us to make.”
It is reported Lisa left Nine due to the gender pay gap…
The network CEO denies that was the issue.
He delved into the topic of gender equality at Channel Nine, adamantly voicing that it is not an issue at his company.
“It’s a really important issue, gender pay equality. The fact that it became something that is not the issue at hand I think was unfortunate. It undermines the good work we’ve done, undermines the debate and the discussion.”
“We got to the point where for the level of work she did for the rights that we were able to access for Lisa, we weren’t able to come to a commercial agreement,” he explained.
Today still has no new co-anchor.
Hugh also took a moment to address the second elephant in the room… Why don’t they have a replacement for Lisa Wilkinson yet?
The network head, who this year took home $2.77 million with his combined bonus and salary, confirmed it was “very likely” they’d promote a Channel Nine star.
Deborah Knight is said to be the front-runner after Georgie Gardener pulled out of the race.
But there could be another in the mix.
Mr Marks praised Allison Langdon as an “amazing presenter” in her existing role on 60 Minutes.
With Georgie turning down the role, Deb Knight is pipped as the new Today co-host.
Though Hugh is very fond of Allison Langdon.
“I think she’d be a great option but I think we have three or four really good options inside the company. One of those we will progress over the course of the next couple of weeks,” he shared.
“When you have that depth of talent and you come to a discussion like Lisa Wilkinson, you have to eventually go, ‘actually we can’t agree there, but we’ve got three or four, five, six, seven other options’.”
Adding, “We’re in a really, really strong position.”
