Television star Deborah Knight is everywhere, becoming Channel 9’s morning and evening workhorse
Whether it is morning or night, you are likely to see Deborah Knight fronting the news on Channel 9 as part of a “gruelling” schedule.
As one of Channel 9’s marquee stars, some might find it unusual to see Deborah Knight on screens seven days a week in both the mornings and evenings.
The Today co-host spends Monday to Friday at the desk of the breakfast show, pumping out three-and-a-half hours of intensive live television from 5.30am, followed by production meetings.
On Saturdays and Sundays, she anchors the network’s 6pm evening news bulletin and when weekday host Peter Overton is on leave, as he has been this week, she steps in there too.
It’s a gruelling workload that few others would happily take on, given the demands of waking up at 3am each day, and a move that has raised eyebrows in the industry over the past several months.
“I’m exhausted just thinking about it,” one on-air personality at a rival network told news.com.au.
“Not many people come to mind when I try to imagine someone else so willingly putting in those hours. Live TV is gruelling stuff. She’s a gun.”
Is this merely a case of filling on-air gaps when needed, as Nine insists, or part of some broader strategy?
By Friday night when she clocks off for a well-earned break for two whole days, Knight will have this week alone notched up more than 22 hours of live broadcast presenting.
Media consultant Steve Allen believes it’s a clever ploy, part of a plan to bolster the ailing Today brand by luring some of the evening news bulletin’s audience to its breakfast offering.
“It’s a very clever strategy and it should, over the midterm, produce some ratings dividends. Today certainly needs it,” he said.
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The man she replaced, veteran broadcaster Karl Stefanovic, did regular stints at flagship current affairs show 60 Minutes.
Stefanovic was also popular enough to land his own projects, from a night-time panel show to the feel-good series This Time Next Year.
But those plum roles felt more like a network capitalising on its star’s pulling power than shuffling a workhorse from the early morning to the evening to fill different chairs when they fall empty.
Is it a case of “Deb will do it” or “Deb needs to do it”?
The incredible workload could be part of a brand-building exercise for Today, Allen believes, which has battled dwindling audience numbers for some time — a trend that the departure of Stefanovic and a shake-up of talent has failed to reverse.
Knight, a seasoned journalist and trusted voice in news, is reminding those in the evening that they can also find her in the mornings, Allen said.
“It brings Nine back to where many think it should be, as the professional and slightly more up-market home of news. They’re positioning themselves as more trusted and more serious than that mums-and-dads show called Sunrise.”
That kind of news-focused approach has worked well for ABC News Breakfast, which has steadily built a loyal audience over recent years and in April did something that would’ve once been unthinkable — beat Today in the ratings.
Strategy or not, Knight’s clear status as an indispensable talent comes at a time when she’s at the top of her game, TV Tonight editor David Knox said.
“When Deb was given the plum job of anchoring Today with Georgie Gardner, Nine indicated she would no longer be fronting prime time news bulletins in Sydney,” Knox said.
“But clearly they recognise she is one of their most versatile presenters, whether holding her own in political interviews or never missing a beat when the news autocue goes down.
“Knight has survived TV’s revolving door where many others would not. Whether on Nine or Ten viewers have always rated her, possibly more than some TV execs.”
RELATED: Deborah Knight hits back at critics who slammed her appearance during Pauline Hanson interview
Allen agreed, describing her as one of the most professional in the business — something he expects is reflecting in Nine’s internal research.
“She doesn’t have any side to her, you know. She’s a lot more humble than many in TV and I think the public sees that. That’s why they really relate to her,” he said.
“If Nine is doing tracking research, which I imagine they are, she’s bound to be coming out as someone who viewers like.”
Channel 7’s Sunrise continues to trump its brekky rival in the ratings by a considerable margin, posting a national audience of 456,000 compared to Today’s 286,000 on Monday.
Allen believes the person best-placed to turn that around is none other than Knight.
“The more she’s on screen, the better,” he said.
Nine declined to comment for this story.
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