Sunrise receives Matt Shirvington’s salary

New Sunrise presenter Matt Shirvington will first have to win over the viewers if he wants to earn as much as his predecessor David ‘Kochie’ Koch.

According to a well-placed television executive, Kochie earned more than $1.5 million a year for his role on the breakfast show.

‘Kochie was a big part of Seven’s overall success – which is why he took home about $1.5 million’

But Shirvington’s salary will be much lower, as the star reportedly signed a $400,000,000 salary deal with the Seven network, subject to ratings increases.

“Shirvo is young, handsome and charismatic, but he is still relatively untested, which is why he is paid half of what Kochie was making,” the television executive told the Daily Mail Australia.

The insider said they expect his suspect’s salary to rise to $750,000 if the public’s ratings and feedback play in his favour.

“If he can maintain or even increase the ratings, the sky is the limit.”

Australian athlete Matt Shirvington takes over from David Koch as co-host of Sunrise alongside Natalie Barr

Shirvington has big shoes to fill as he takes over from Kochie, the longest-serving breakfast television presenter in Australian history.

Although he is a talent, he is not a professionally trained journalist. He can struggle in the fast-paced world of live television,” the source added.

Apart from a 10-year spell working for Sky News Australia and Fox Sports as a sports presenter, Shirvington has devoted much of his media career to the Seven Network.

Under Kochie’s rule, Sunrise has been number one for 19 years, beating Today with Karl Stefanovic.

“Success at breakfast is at the root of the success of the entire network and cannot be underestimated,” explains the TV executive.

“If you’re watching breakfast on a given network, you’re also watching the 6 p.m. news bulletin — and Seven hopes those viewers stay.”

Seven’s Million Dollar Man Kochie ends Friday, June 9 at Brekky Central

The official announcement was made on Monday morning’s breakfast show, four days before Koch films his last show on Friday

Money may not be the primary motivation for Shirvington to take on the Sunrise gig.

He already owns a $12.5 million dollar mansion overlooking Sirius Cove in Mosman, one of Sydney’s most exclusive postcodes.

His wife, Jessica Shirvington, is also very successful and best known as the author of the Embrace series of supernatural romance novels.

She is also the general manager and co-owner of the Bathers Pavilion overlooking Balmoral Beach.

Her father, Ian Pagent, is the co-founder of AutoSports Group, a network of 40 car dealerships in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Imagine a future early morning, it’s a full-circle moment for Shirvington, who began his media career with the Seven Network in 2005 as the host of the defunct science and technology show Beyond Tomorrow.

Shirvington said he had “mixed feelings” about the new gig as he sat on the couch with Barr and Koch for the announcement on Monday morning’s show.

Before building his television career, Shirvington dominated the circuit between the late 1990s and 2000s.

Although he competed in several sprinting events, he was best known for his 100m races, placing fifth in the 100m semi-final at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and taking the Australian national 100m sprint title of 1998 until 2002.

He retired from professional sports in 2008.

It’s no surprise that Matt got the top job. In a statement from Seven, general manager and CEO James Warburton said;

“Matt has become a valuable member of the Seven team since he joined us three years ago. He is the consummate professional, the whole team – just like Kochie – and brilliant at his job.’ he said, adding.

“Of course Matt has big shoes to fill, but we’ve already seen viewers welcome him with open arms during his time on the show.”

Seven have been approached for comment.