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Oops. Tweet on Today ratings insists “it cannot go on.”

A case of friendly fire as attention turns to breakfast TV ratings.

After media articles today were swirling around breakfast TV ratings, Peter FitzSimons -husband of Lisa Wilkinson- took to social media to comment on the Today show before quickly deleting the post.

News Corp earlier reported “Today show suffers worst ratings in four years.”

“Something will have to break. It cannot go on, in the current form past Chrissie, surely,” FitzSimons said of Nine’s ratings.

“I have followed the numbers closely. Today would not have been this low for at least ten years.”

He soon deleted the post explaining it was meant to be a private message. Ouch.

As with primetime, both commercial breakfast shows are down compared to 2017*.

Sunrise was averaging 296,000 at this point last year and this year is at 263,000, a drop of 11.1%.

Today‘s drop is larger at 14.6%, from 285,000 in 2017 to 244,000 in 2018.

Last week Sunrise averaged 269,000 viewers to Today‘s 240,000.

Sunrise has also won 21 weeks of the the 40 year ratings survey, a measure that was enough for Nine News to claim the year in Sydney. But it ain’t a metric Seven recognises….

ABC’s News Breakfast meanwhile is averaging 148,000 viewers so far this year, however that is derived from a simulcast on both ABC and ABC News.

Both commercial shows have had their share of headlines this year, from Uber calls to community protests.

Meanwhile each is currently focussed on doing their bit for farmers battling the drought in at least 2 states.

Just to keep things in perspective.

*Based on weeks 7-32 2017 & 2018 excluding Easter, 5 city metro.

24 Responses

  1. Perhaps many viewers are at last waking up to realise that they could be doing more important things in the morning than watching shows that full of pap delivered by a bunch of egotists.

  2. I like watching ABC News Breakfast as I’m getting ready for work, 30 – 40mins then I’m out the door. That works for me because that seems to be all the content they have and they just rinse and repeat themselves. As does the whole of the ABC News 24.

  3. I reckon Georgie Gardener is the wrong ” fit ” for this kind of show.
    She acts like a North Shore housewife who took a wrong turn in the Land Rover and somehow ended up at Bass Hill Primary…

  4. I don’t think any of the highly paid ‘celebrity’ morning show hosts are in danger of losing their jobs at the moment too much kudos has been invested into them. Casual FTA TV observers should note the increase in clickbait articles usually involving Karl or Samantha when ratings go down.

  5. I think Peter should be given some credit for his response. It was honest and relatable – and when you think that he thought he was DMing, the comment he made could have been far more scathing or personal, but he didn’t go there (unlike say the Uber affair).

  6. Today needs a clean sweep. Get rid of them all. Not Deb Knight though. A total refresh. There is other talent out there, they just need to find them.

  7. the abc breakfast is too Melbourne centric why they even broadcast nationally beyond me .taxpayers getting ripped off by the ABC. Melbourne show disguised as a national show ..On Today Karl and the female host have no chemistry they seem like they are forced to sit next to each other no personality, as for sunrise the formats are so similar now with today it’s become stale both shows need new formats freshening up ..this is where ten should do a Aussie version of cbs this morning best breakfast show . And stop with the weather man naming evey city in Australia in the weather report and its temperature every half hour just show the cities on the map with music background it’s so annoying so repetitive their ratings indicate that all three breakfast shows are on the nose. .the concerts in the plaza set sunrise apart years ago.on weekends love Monique on weekend sunrise but…

    1. Read Davids reply to Sharpy below. Explains that viewers drop in and out of the breakfast shows, which is why news and weather is repeated, because very few people would be watching the shows from start to finish.

      1. the ratings show in Sydney and most capitals no one is watching for example in sydney people watching 250,000 average day, out of a city of four million the format is wrong clearly. i watch and get ready for work for about two hours have it on that was years ago its too repetitive for me thats why i went to radio

  8. I still don’t understand why both shows think they are so great and spend so much money with such appalling ratings. I guess most of the costs are subsidised by cash for comment and constant infomercials.

    1. Question: Did you ever watch either show from beginning to end 6-9am? If the answer is No, it’s exactly the same for every other viewer. These are drop in, drop out shows so the average does not reflect the kinds of highs these shows attain. It’s very different to primetime. I hope this has helped you with some context.

      1. The ratings have fallen so the average highs have dropped. If they were still engaging they would attract the same viewers not fewer. Using your theory of drop in drop out shows, Alan Jones and Kyle & Jackie O still attract similar figures year on year, whereas Today and Sunrise are in decline. It’s fair to raise the question whether the value of the hosts are worth the same today as they were when the ratings were higher

  9. I like watching the american today show. They don’t try to be cool or funny. They present the news. The 2 female presenters works. I don’t want to be told stupid jokes by the likes of the Stefanovic brothers. They need to go.

  10. The show lost me when Karl had constant man crushes on guests. “oh isn’t he handsome” “You’re such a handsome man” and so many more etc… Can’t imagine him getting away with commenting on female guests in the same tone. Too weird.

  11. Nine need to address the hosts. There is zero chemistry between Karl and Peter Stefanovic and their respective female hosts. I used to really enjoy Weekend Today with Tom Steinfort & Deb Knight last year. This year, the show is so stilted and uncomfortable; it is unwatchable.

    1. Seven’s presenters I feel tend to appear warmer and have more chemistry. Basil Zempilas has slotted straight into Weekend Sunrise which is a much more watchable show than its counterpart.

      1. See I’m the opposite – I can’t stand Basil – I feel like he’s too over the top, and I don’t watch Weekend Sunrise anymore because of it (not that I watch Today – I turn on Foxtel…)

  12. It lost more than it won when Lisa was hosting it too so I am not sure why there’s a Christmas deadline on change now? Could it be because Georgie is hosting and not someone else? Not very nice

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