A leading TV commentator has weighed in on Lisa Wilkinson's bombshell upcoming memoir, which will detail her sacking from Channel Nine in October 2017 over a reported gender pay gap dispute.
Rob McKnight, a former Channel Nine executive, said on his TV Blackbox podcast on Friday that he 'doesn't believe pay parity has a place' when it comes to TV talent.
He then listed one occasion where a female host out-earned their male colleague, following Wilkinson's claims that pay disparity between her and her former Today co-host Karl Stefanovic was, at one stage, 'so off the charts that no-one would have believed it'.
Speaking out: A leading TV commentator has weighed in on Lisa Wilkinson's bombshell upcoming memoir, which will detail her sacking from Channel Nine in October 2017 over a reported gender pay gap dispute. Pictured: Wilkinson alongside her former Today show co-host Karl Stefanovic
'The simple fact is, an entertainer is a commodity networks use to make money. They invest in talent they believe will drive ratings and revenue,' McKnight said.
'On Today Extra, Sonia Kruger earned a lot more money than David Campbell. On Studio 10, Ita Buttrose was the highest paid panellist.'
A report in The Daily Telegraph in 2017 claimed Kruger was earning 'close to double' what Campbell got when she was at Channel Nine, with an annual take-home of $800,000.
'Talent fees are not based on gender, and nor should they be. They should always be based on that person's value to the project,' McKnight added.
Wilkinson's explosive new book It Wasn't Meant To Be Like This includes a chapter dedicated to her sacking from Channel Nine and falling out with Stefanovic over a pay dispute.
Commentary: Rob McKnight said on his TV Blackbox podcast on Friday that he 'doesn't believe pay parity has a place' when it comes to TV talent, before listing one occasion where a female host out-earned their male colleague
'On Today Extra, Sonia Kruger (right) earned a lot more money than David Campbell (left),' McKnight said. A report in The Daily Telegraph in 2017 claimed Kruger was earning 'close to double' what Campbell got, with an annual take-home of $800,000
She alleges Stefanovic proposed in August 2015 they join forces to renegotiate their Nine contracts - not unlike how the cast of American sitcom Friends famously worked together to broker better deals with NBC.
But she claims he ended up ditching this idea and instead played rival networks Nine and Seven off against each other in order to secure a better deal for himself.
'Weeks later... the media became awash with stories that Stefanovic was restless at Today and looking for greener pastures – and more civilised working hours – at Channel Seven,' she wrote.
Stefanovic was soon at the centre of a bidding war between Nine and Seven that resulted in him re-signing a five-year deal with Nine worth at least $2million per year.
Wilkinson's deal was worth significantly less, about $780,000 a year, and was only for two years.
'On Studio 10, Ita Buttrose (pictured) was the highest paid panellist,' McKnight continued
Bombshell memoir: Wilkinson's new book includes a chapter dedicated to her sacking from Channel Nine and falling out with Stefanovic over a pay dispute. She alleges Stefanovic proposed in August 2015 they join forces to renegotiate their Nine contracts - but she claims ditched this idea and instead played Nine and Seven off against each other to secure a better deal for himself
Response: McKnight offered a simple explanation for the offer, adding: 'When Lisa first joined Today, she was seen as the bigger draw card and got the rewards. Then Karl got drunk at the Logies and connected with viewers, so he got a big pay rise'
'There was no doubt about it: Karl certainly knew the art of the deal,' she wrote, adding that the resulting pay disparity between them 'was so off the charts that no-one would have believed it'.
McKnight offered a simple explanation for the offer, adding: 'When Lisa first joined Today, she was seen as the bigger draw card and got the rewards. Then Karl got drunk at the Logies and
