http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/en...roup-sex-scandal/story-e6frewyr-1225815371015
MATTHEW Johns has put scandal behind him to emerge as 2010's hottest television and radio property, with negotiations for his rival to the Footy Show "well-advanced" on Seven. With Channel 7 executives keen to transform the former NRL star into "the new Rove," Johns is understood to be happy with the progress of talks held with the network before Christmas.
After Johns turned his back on a new Nine deal, next week's Magic Millions - co-owned by his new TV production partner John Singleton - will prove a testing ground for all the key players.
Singleton is expected to host 2GB star Ray Hadley at the Gold Coast racing carnival, alongside NRL boss David Gallop and Nine CEO David Gyngell, who stands to lose the most if a Johns/Hadley show starts on Seven.
While there is no animosity between Gyngell and Johns, who rejected a $500,000-a-year contract to return to Nine, one TV insider said "all parties are anxious over where this show ends up".
Despite his fall from grace over claims of group sex seven years ago, Johns has since regrouped.
With The Footy Show's popularity on the wane, Seven boss David Leckie is keen to establish a league audience ahead of bidding for the game's broadcast rights from 2012.
Meanwhile, the Triple M breakfast radio sports program which Johns was to have been the launch anchor for last year is said to have been given one 2010 survey to improve or be axed.
The Grill - with Gus Worland as host and ex-NRL star Mark Geyer and former Test spinner Stuart MacGill as panellists - failed miserably in the ratings, almost halving the audience left by the sacked pairing of Ugly Phil and Sami Lukis.
One talent agent close to the program said all presenters had been put on notice to perform.
"It's not funny, it's not driving opinion, it's just not working, period," the source said.
In a year which was intended to see the resurrection of the once mighty Triple M, backed with a $1 million-plus advertising campaign, the breakfast program went backwards, ending with just 2.2 share points in the critical timeslot.
Sister station 2Day FM, while faring better in the final ratings, opens the year under the magnifying glass with the media watchdog expected to finalise its industry-wide review of participants on entertainment programs.
With strict new conditions on its licence after the radio scandal which almost cost Kyle Sandilands and sidekick Jackie O their jobs, the station and its executive team will be in the crossfire of peers and rivals angry that the industry was dragged through the mud over the actions of the breakfast duo.
2GB is also expected to decide the fate of suspended afternoon presenter Chris Smith at the end of this month.
Smith was shelved after allegations he groped four female staffers at the company Christmas party. He later revealed he had been struggling with alcohol and mental health issues.
