Nine News Queensland sports reporter Jonathan Uptin has reportedly been pulled from reporting on the Paris Olympics at the last minute.
According to the Herald Sun, Uptin has been absent from the 6pm bulletin and the network scrambled to replace him in Paris with newsreader Andrew Lofthouse.
Nine are also advertising for a sports reporter at their Brisbane base on Mount Coot-Tha.
However, the network has claimed Uptin has not been dismissed and the role is a vacant position.
Network Nine declined to comment on Uptin’s absence from the Olympics coverage when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
The Olympics got off to a flying start with the star-studded performance airing live at 3.30am AEST, with Celine Dion and Lady Gaga taking to the stage.
Repeats of the ceremony aired throughout the morning, with day one coverage of the sporting competition kicking off again at 7pm AEST.
In a huge TV shake-up, the Olympics coverage is instead airing on Channel Nine this year after the network won the rights to air the sports spectacular along with Stan.
Nine News Queensland sports reporter Jonathan Uptin has reportedly been pulled from reporting on the Paris Olympics at the last minute
Seven, the long-running home of the Olympics in Australia, was unable to stretch its budget to secure the rights to Paris 2024.
It comes as the network faces serious financial problems and widespread job cuts.
Seven first broadcast the Olympics in 1956 but briefly lost the rights for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics, before signing an exclusive deal from 2016 until 2020.
According to the Herald Sun, Uptin has been absent from the 6pm bulletin and the network scrambled to replace him in Paris with newsreader Andrew Lofthouse
However, this year Nine reportedly offered in excess of $300million for the broadcast rights to the Olympics – $100million more than Seven West Media.
Nine already owns the rights to the Australian Open and also pays about $100million for the free-to-air NRL rights.
It was previously reported Seven lost about $50million covering the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
It comes after Australian viewers were left confused when they tuned in to watch the hotly anticipated 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday (participants are seen gathering around the Seine River)
