Just a day after Woman’s Day revealed Lisa Wilkinson’s recent walk-out has inspired other breakfast TV stars to review their contracts, a new report in The Daily Telegraph claims Sunrise‘s David “Kochie” Koch is leading the charge at Channel 7.
According to the publication, Samantha Armytage’s co-star is in talks with the network over his hours and wants to cut back from five days on-air, to four.
The Telegraph claim the long-standing host, who has been at the helm of the breakfast show for 15 years, has asked execs to work Monday-Thursday.
Sunrise continue to dominate the ratings war against Today and it’s believed Kochie, who is one of the network’s most popular stars, will be met with his request.
Kochie isn’t the only star in negotiations, with claims the show’s executive producer Michael Pell and presenter Natalie Barr are also in the process of reviewing their contracts.
Pell, 35, has been ironing his contract over the past few weeks and it’s believed he’ll stay at Sunrise despite handsome offers from rival networks.
Meanwhile Samantha Armytage’s contract won’t be up for review until next year but insiders speculate that just like Lisa, when the time is right she’ll be demanding the same equal pay as her male co-host.
Although Channel 7 refused to comment on this latest report, in light of the current breakfast show climate it will be interesting to see what the 2018 Sunrise line-up looks like.
On Monday, Woman’s Day exclusively unearthed Today star Karl Stefanovic’s extra earnings.
WATCH: The Sunrise team take a swipe at Lisa Wilkinson. Post continues…
Karl is secretly paid an extra $1 million on top of his already huge $2 million salary, making him the highest-paid host ever on Australian TV.
The 43-year-old pockets almost $160,000 a month (after tax) in an extraordinary deal kept secret until now, with his super-size salary comprised of $2 million in wages and an extra $1 million for use of his image by Nine.
In light of the bombshell, one source said: “Everyone is looking at their contracts and wondering if the person sitting next to them is earning more or less than them – it has opened the floodgate.”
Woman’s Day broke the story that Karl earns megabucks for his multiple roles on Nine.
