- Caroline Wilson is set to depart Channel 9 for Channel 7
- She has been part of Nine’s Footy Classified since its inception
- Kane Cornes will also join Seven’s AFL coverage in 2025 and beyond
Veteran Channel 9 broadcaster Caroline Wilson is reportedly set to join Kane Cornes and jump ship to rivals Channel 7.
Wilson, who has been a fixture on Nine’s Footy Classified since its inception in 2007, has been targeted by Seven sport boss Chris Jones, reports News Corp.
Wilson will join outspoken AFL pundit and former Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes, who has a week left with Nine.
The pair’s departure from the show means Craig Hutchison and Matthew Lloyd are the only members of the Monday night version of the program that will stay with Nine.
Seven are determined to rebuild their AFL offering for 2025 and beyond with Jones recently telling Mediaweek: ‘Our football coverage is fantastic, but there’s certainly opportunities for us to grab more share of audience,’ said Jones.
‘I would love to have more programming on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next year where we can tell AFL stories, and feature them prominently on 7plus and on Seven.’
Seven are planning on creating a new show around Cornes, likely to go up against Footy Classified and Fox Footy’s On The Couch on a Monday night.
Cornes, who will work on game day as well as nightly news and footy programs, said he is excited about the move.
Veteran Channel 9 broadcaster Caroline Wilson (pictured) is reportedly set to follow Kane Cornes to rivals Channel 7
The Port Adelaide legend has recently signed to join Channel 7 in 2025 and beyond
‘It was an opportunity that I was thrilled to have a listen to. It was too good to pass up,’ he said on SEN radio.
‘It’s been weighing on me a little bit with Channel 9 because they’ve been so amazing and it’s such a great place to work.
‘I get along with everyone so well there and I think the shows we do there are excellent.
‘To tell everyone as I did (on Monday) was a weight off the chest and I’ll move on to a place that I’m really excited to join.’
Cornes is well-known for ruffling feathers and may have to mend a few fences with his new colleagues before he starts in his new role.
Appearing on a recent episode of The Howie Games Podcast with Mark Howard, the 41-year-old revealed how he got word that a senior executive at Seven said that he would never work for the network after his brutal takedown of Richmond legend Trent Cotchin.
‘I wasn’t told by him directly… but it got back to me,’ he said.
‘They were really, really upset by it (the segment parodying Trent Cotchin). The producers who had put that to air were really upset and that made me feel a little bit guilty. But yes, that feedback did get back to me.
Wilson has been a fixture on Nine’s Footy Classified since its inception in 2007
Cornes made an infamous video where he mocked what he thought of as Cotchin’s wooden delivery in his new role as an AFL analyst.
‘We just sort of walked in on the Sunday and I’d seen this Trent Cotchin video. I thought it was an average product, to be completely honest,’ Cornes explained.
‘Yes, Trent is new (to the media), I personally wouldn’t have put that on social media after seeing what it was, so I think they let Trent down by doing that. We sometimes take the mickey out of each other.
‘I thought is there anything we can do with this Cotchin video? I didn’t really rate this video. We put our brains together and we come (to an idea), well why don’t we film you (Kane) in a similar style, let’s find the most boring piece of play for the year and let’s recreate what had happened.
‘I think I said to Matt (our producer), is this out of line? Is this too nasty? And the consensus was ‘nah, it was a bit of fun.’
‘Would it have been hard for Trent to look at? Possibly. Do I regret doing it? No. I would do it again.’
