Today’s Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon hoping to get a headstart
Nine’s beleaguered Today program will start the 2020 ratings year five weeks early in a bid to lure back the thousands of viewers it has lost in the past 12 months.
Confidential
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Today will unveil its new line-up five weeks before the official 2020 ratings year kicks off in a bid to lure and secure viewers while their holidaying rivals are off air.
Sunday Confidential can reveal Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon will be on air from January 6, a week earlier than the ill-fated Today panel of Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight debuted this year.
While its main rival Sunrise was yesterday tight-lipped on when it would go to air — an insider said it wanted to “keep them guessing” — it is believed the full team will not return until the end of January.
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“I bet when (Sunrise executive producer) Michael (Pell) reads this in tomorrow’s paper he will bring his team back earlier than he was going to originally,” one insider said yesterday.
“I don’t know why, no one watches TV during that time.”
Nine executives are hoping getting an early start will allow Langdon and Stefanovic to find their groove and build all-important breakfast TV chemistry.
The pair will be joined by Deborah Knight, who will read the news. It is yet to be confirmed if Brooke Boney will remain as entertainment reporter.
The sports position is also yet to be filled, with a number of journalists including Alex Cullen being trialled over the summer break.
Nine bigwigs will be desperate to see Today’s latest hosts better received than Gardner and Knight were.
That Stefanovic-free revamp was billed as “the very first day of a new era on Nine” on January 14, but attracted abysmal ratings throughout 2019.