The end of the Today show? Breakfast show's ratings hit shocking new low
The Today show has placed third on TV ratings when it comes to the morning breakfast slot, after being beaten by an unlikely underdog.
According to Crikey, the ABC’s News Breakfast has taken second place behind Sunrise on Channel 7, swiftly eclipsing the once revered Channel Nine program.
The ABC morning show amassed over 265,000 national viewers across ABC and ABC News on Wednesday, while Today raked in 1000 less with 264,000.
Sunrise has kept the lead for a while now and sat on top with over 447,000 viewers nationally.
It’s been a non-stop saga for the Channel Nine morning show after Karl Stefanovic was ousted in December of 2018. Today hoped to regain some of its lost audience with a fresher, shinier panel and a brand-new look but it’s to no avail.
Just one year prior, Stefanovic’s co-host Lisa Wilkinson shocked Australian viewers by resigning from her position due to pay discrepancies.
A Nine spokesperson has rebuffed Crikey’s report, claiming the figures don’t hold as ABC’s morning show screens across two channels, unlike Today.
“Today won nationally against ABC Breakfast (combined five City Metro and Regional 264,000 to 193,000) as well as five City Metro,” they said.
Not only has the gap widened between both Channel 7 and Channel 9’s morning shows, but the new contender coming into play has distanced the two rivals even further.
After disappointing figures last month, Nine’s director of morning television, Steve Burling seemed to remain upbeat.
“It’s very early days and rating figures will continue to fluctuate, but I’m absolutely thrilled with the dynamic between Georgie, Deb, Tom and the entire on-air team,” he told news.com.au.
“And, I’m confident that the audience will be turning to us in the weeks and months ahead.”
When the revamp debuted in January, Today was smashed in ratings, drawing in a measly 197,000 metro viewers.
At one point, the show attracted just 167,000 metro viewers, which marked the lowest figures since 2006.
In a statement to TV Tonight, Adrian Swift, Nine’s head of content production was still positive and said viewers should give the refurbished Today show a chance.
“The reality is when you change your line-up it takes a long time to bed in,” he explained.
“We're not concerned. We are absolutely convinced we will get there.”
Brooke Boney, Tom Steinfort, and Tony Jones joined the new panel with Deborah and Georgie in January after longtime host, Karl Stefanovic was axed.
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