The rugby league television bombshell comes less than a week after Nine announced the AFL Footy Show would be returning in 2018.

The Daily Telegraph reports The NRL Footy Show Thursday night format is set to be axed after key figures, including host Paul Vautin, were told they would not be needed next year.

The report claims Vautin will see out his contract for 2018 in a diminished role as a live football commentator.

Nine said in a statement it is still finalising the format of its rugby league line-up for next year and stressed Vautin remains contracted for the 2018 NRL season.

“Nine will be broadcasting 23 Thursday night NRL games in 2018 and so the NRL Footy Show will have a new look and feel to reflect the games the audience have just enjoyed watching,” Nine said in a statement.

“The exact format of The Footy Show and appearing talent is still to be determined.”

The incredible backflip comes after Nine last week promoted The Footy Show in its 2018 advertising promotion.

Nine trumpeted the news Vautin, Erin Molan, Beau Ryan and Darryl Brohman would be returning for a 25th season.

The network last week claimed it would be also sticking with its star-studded rugby league commentary team, including Ray Warren and Phil Gould.

“The NRL Footy Show also returns for its 25th season in 2018, with all the latest breaking stories and loads of fun from the world of rugby league,” Nine said in a statement last week.

“Each week Paul “Fatty” Vautin, Erin Molan, Beau Ryan and Darryl “Big Marn” Brohman will be joined by some of the biggest names in the game, including Johnathan Thurston and Billy Slater, as they provide expert analysis on all the matches.”

The network stresses it remains committed to a live Thursday night NRL show.

The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield writes Nine’s rugby league programming will actually be expanded in 2018 with a Monday night NRL news and weekend review show set to follow a similar format to the network’s Footy Classified AFL-based Monday night program.

It is a bid to go head-to-head with Fox League’s Monday night with Matthew Johns.

According to reports the network will continue to run a live rugby league show on Thursday night under a re-launched title that will be hosted by Molan.

The network has reportedly made the decision to promote Molan at the expense of Vautin in an attempt to win back female audiences — as Fox League has done with Yvonne Sampson, who walked out on Nine two years ago.

Nine’s Footy Shows ratings have slipped to an all-time low this year, often to as bad as 80,000 viewers compared to the halcyon days when it regularly pulled in audiences of around 370,000.

RUGBY LEAGUE REACTS TO FOOTY SHOW SHOCK

The rugby league community has reacted with stunned shock at the news Paul Vautin’s reign as the king of The Footy Show (NRL) is over.

There is an entire generation of rugby league fans that have never known Thursday nights without Vautin hosting the NRL weekend preview program.

The news is another shock in Nine’s turbulent week following the shock news Today Show host Lisa Wilkinson has jumped ship to Network 10 following a pay dispute.

Vautin was reportedly given the bad news earlier this week while on a family holiday in the United States.

He is yet to speak publicly about the Channel 9 announcement, but his fans have reacted with disappointment about the 58-year-old’s Thursday night snub.