The Footy Show host Beau Ryan believes he is being "edged out" by Nine, following the restructure of the NRL football program.
Filling in this morning for Kyle Sandilands on Kiis 106.5, Ryan joked that The Footy Show budget had been dramatically slashed, which is why he was left without a chair on last night's season debut.
He said that Nine has cut his appearances during the show but they can't competely get rid of him as he signed a 10-year deal with the network.
Ryan also addressed the tension between himself and new host Erin Molan, saying he hadn't heard from her in a while.
Nine announced it would be overhauling The Footy Show at the end of last year as long-time host Paul 'Fatty' Vautin was axed in favour of Molan.
The show has now pivoted away from the various gags it was renowned for, focusing more on football, Ryan said.
Despite a major overhaul, the show still struggled to pull in a significant audience, reaching just 438,000 metro viewers in its 9.30pm slot last night.
The rejigged show also received backlash on social media, with many begging Nine to "bring back the fat".
Time for @Channel9 to admit they royally fucked up, bite the bullet and re-instate Paul Vautin to his show #NRLDragonsBroncos #9NRLFootyShow
— soupnaziruckus (@soupnaziruckus) March 8, 2018
#9nrlfootyshow even beau ryan calls it and says the show is boring
— fred (@jimmyscircus) March 8, 2018
What a shambles - the show has lost all identity, Erin ain’t no Fatty #9NRLFootyShow #bringbackthefat
— MG (@gordymatt) March 8, 2018
So I guess we will stick with the Matty Johns show now.. This is a snooze fest. Disappointing 😕 #9nrlfootyshow
— rochelle (@SmileforVic) March 8, 2018
The new NRL Footy Show is shit shame on you channel 9 bring back the fat #9NRLFootyShow
— Laura Gow (@TheParraEelsFan) March 8, 2018
Nine declined to comment.
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