Karl Stefanovic falls flat as Today suffers a total eclipse of the Sunrise
Karl might have returned to Today, but the same cannot be said for Today’s former audience.
Karl Stefanovic might have returned to the Today show but not so the program’s former audience, which continues to shun the Nine Network’s breakfast offering.
Seven’s Sunrise has reasserted itself as the No 1 breakfast show in the critical television timeslot, two weeks after Nine resurrected Stefanovic — alongside an all-new line-up, the third in as many years — in a desperate bid to win back viewers.
Despite both shows gaining a ratings bump on the back of their bushfire coverage, Stefanovic and co-host Allison Langdon failed to beat the program’s average ratings numbers for the past three years, let alone challenge its arch-rival, led by reigning breakfast TV hosts Samantha Armytage and David Koch.
The Today show hit a new low of 185,000 viewers across the five metropolitan cities last Monday, and again dipped below the “magic” 200,000 number on Tuesday to 192,000.
Former Today executive producer Steve Wood blamed the poor early numbers on Today’s lacklustre “production values”.
“Sunrise has just gone into overdrive; they’re looking pretty smart, pretty slick. As opposed to the Today show, which seems to be, I think, still struggling to find its feet,” Wood said.
“I think the production values have got to be raised quite a bit to counteract what Sunrise are doing.”
Wood said the Today show needed to get “the right people on board” behind the scenes: “I think they’re struggling purely by not having enough people on the ground.”
He also had a dig at Stefanovic. “He needs to lose weight (and) stop shopping at St Vincent’s.”
In comparison, Wood said Armytage and Koch were a “slick team”.
“They’re comfortable. They look like a married couple,” he said, adding it showed in the early ratings.
A Nine spokeswoman said it was too early to write off Stefanovic’s return as a failed experiment. “This time slot is a marathon … everyone is focused on making a great show.”
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