Nine boss defends Today’s Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon as viewers tune out
Channel Nine boss Darren Wick has revealed he doesn’t care about the Today show’s abysmal ratings, saying Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon have the right chemistry.
Confidential
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Channel Nine boss Darren Wick has revealed he does not care about the Today show’s abysmal ratings.
Wick, who is head of news and current affairs, defended the show’s current lineup with Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon despite ratings dropping to an all-time low last week.
“Hand on heart, I’m not bothered by the ratings,” Wick told The Australian.
“Karl and Ally are absolutely the right team. The chemistry is right and they’re in a good headspace.
“What we’re doing now is trying to get Australians to watch it again. The results will come.”
On Tuesday, the Today show pulled in 173,000 viewers across the five-metro market and was subsequently beaten by ABC News Breakfast (178,000 viewers).
The embarrassing figures cemented rival Sunrise’s place at number one, with 272,000 people.
Wick said he’s confident that Today’s ratings will eventually pick up.
“The show is still finding its rhythm; we’re not even two months in. And it would be naive for us not to imagine it will be a tough journey to win viewers back,” he said.
Wick’s defiant statement comes more than one year after Stefanovic was axed from the program amid low ratings.
“Nine and Karl Stefanovic have agreed it is time for him to step off the Today Show,” Wick said at the time.
The Today show later backflipped and brought back Stefanovic this year alongside Langdon after axing Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight.
However, Stefanovic’s return is yet to pay off for Nine.
Today has been under 200,000 viewers across the five-city metro 12 times out of 35 episodes this year.
Today’s best national audience with Stefanovic in the chair was 475,000 in 2016, with 315,000 of those residing in the key five-city metropolitan viewers bracket.