Breakfast news show Today has received its lowest TV ratings for 2020 despite the return of fan favourite Karl Stefanovic.
The ratings received were close to its lowest ever for the show, with the show bringing in just 173,000 viewers. It was beaten by Sunrise at 272,000 with a gap of almost 100,000.
The ratings mark Today’s second day in a row with under 200,000 viewers and are far lower than last year’s total average with hosts Deborah Knight and Georgie Gardner.
Media analysts Steve Allen said that it’s no surprise Today is struggling.
“The majority of the breakfast audience is female, and they were the ones that reacted greatly against Stefanovic’s various missteps in 2018,” he told news.com.au.
“Our knowledge of that audience is that they don’t forgive easily. We were never convinced his return after a year and a bit of PR boosting would rebuild the bridge.
“I think the vast majority of people are watching Today on a wait-and-see basis.”
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Allen explained that Nine’s executives were expecting Today to do better than it has been and that it’s unlikely there will be changes to the hosting lineup going forward on Today.
“They certainly wouldn’t win again. The next time they make a major change is when Armytage or Kochie don’t renew their contract or leave Sunrise.
“Plus, when you’ve got an expensive star on contract like Stefanovic, you’d much rather use that person than get rid of them.”
Today’s highest rankings with Stefanovic at the helm was 475,000, which it hit back in 2016 with Lisa Wilkinson hosting alongside him.
It was within that year that the show came close to rivalling Sunrise for a brief period, but it appears that viewers have abandoned Today for Sunrise as well as News Breakfast on ABC.
