Boss dubbed the ‘Donald Trump’ of breakfast TV

News and current affairs boss Darren Wick has been branded by rivals at Seven as the Donald Trump of Channel 9, thanks to his now weekly Saturday morning congratulatory tweets.

News and current affairs boss Darren Wick has been branded by rivals at Seven as the Donald Trump of Channel 9, thanks to his now weekly Saturday morning congratulatory tweets.

Despite the fact his Today show team have hit an all-time ratings low, an optimistic Wick continues to sing the program’s praises, touting milestones, no matter how small or insignificant.

“Congratulations @TheTodayShow @GeorgieG @deborah-knight @tomsteinfort @TJcj9 with a good win in Melbourne, taking the week in a photo finish by 384 viewers,” he wrote on Saturday morning. “Officially, OzTam will round the numbers out to the nearest thousand. But, momentum in Melbourne is on our side.”

Channel 9 news and current affairs boss Darren Wick.

And after three weeks of holding his tongue, Sunrise EP Michael Pell finally cracked on Saturday, engaging with Wick on Twitter.

“Not meaning to appear ungracious but I must correct the record,” wrote Pell, who says the programs in fact tied in Melbourne last week. “These ongoing attempts by @darrenwick9 to change the narrative are farcical.”

Pell doubled down on his point of view when contacted by Sunday Confidential on Saturday.

“Competition is healthy,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for everyone who works on breakfast TV, on all three shows. But it’s important to deal in facts and not spin when talking ratings.

“So here are the facts. Sunrise is number one. In Australia. In Sydney. In Melbourne. In every major capital. I’m enormously proud of the team and we are very grateful to the viewers. But the facts are the facts and we can’t have Nine spinning them.”

The Today team, featuring Brooke Boney, Tony Jones, Deb Knight, Georgie Gardner and Tom Steinfort.

A Nine spokesperson said that while the network is not in the business of engaging in a slanging match “the entire Today team continue to work hard and deserve the congratulations wherever appropriate”.

For the record, a state-by-state breakdown of last week’s ratings show Sunrise had 55,029 viewers in Melbourne while Today had 55,413.

One television industry insider, who did not wish to be named, said Wick is “cherry picking” stats to make it seem as though Today is making a comeback.

“He is cherry picking a market here and a market there trying to find strengths when there are none,” they said.

Channel 7’s Sunrise team. Picture: Channel 7.

“He has never done this sort of thing before. I can only gather because he and (Nine CEO) Hugh Marks were the ones who orchestrated this team (that) he is trying to make it seem as though it’s working.”

Another insider said: “It is like he has become the Donald Trump of Channel 9. It is unusual because Darren isn’t normally one to claim credit when there isn’t credit to claim.”