Samantha Armytage will join Nova’s Michael “Wippa” Wipfli to host Today over summer – a move that comes after speculation she had sights set on the permanent chair alongside Karl Stefanovic.

Instead of a full-time breakfast TV comeback, Armytage will front the show for a holiday run, stepping in while Stefanovic and Sarah Abo take their annual break.

It’s a tidy showcase window – and a subtle temperature check – without triggering a formal shake-up… yet.

A summer pairing

The summer schedule starts with David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys before Armytage and Wipfli take over from mid-December.

Then, into January, Nine rotates in talent including Alison Piotrowski, Dr Nick Coatsworth, Joel Dry and Jayne Azzopardi.

Weekends will rotate Lara Vella, Michael Atkinson, Dan Anstey and Lizzie Pearl.

Plenty of familiar faces, plus one headline-friendly combo in Armytage and Wipfli, just enough wattage to keep morning-TV loyalists caffeinated through December.

Contracts, chemistry, and quiet manoeuvres

Armytage’s return to the Today desk arrives as Nine’s marquee duo – Stefanovic and Abo – prepare to negotiate their contracts.

As Mediaweek revealed, the pair are expected to negotiate as a package deal, a move that underscores how tightly the network wants to protect its on-air equilibrium.

It’s a united front – strategically neat, and a reminder the seats Armytage once circled aren’t vacant.

Open season return

Stefanovic and Abo return Monday, January 19, 2026, ahead of the Australian Open.

During the tennis, Today stretches from 5:30am–10:00am, live from Melbourne Park – the annual audience booster that sets tone (and ratings) for the year.

Azzopardi handles news, Danika Mason covers sport, Richard Wilkins and Renee Bargh lead entertainment, and Tim Davies continues on weather.

Today Extra, hosted by Jeffreys and Campbell, signs off end-November and returns late January as the Open wraps.