Sunrise extends lead over Today in second week
Sunrise takes a second breakfast week as curiosity for Today dips.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News, Top Stories
Sunrise has widened the gap over Today in the second week of a fierce 2020 breakfast battle.
In the first week Sunrise won the metro cities by a 57,000 margin.
In the second week it has increased that to 71,000.
Sunrise averaged 269,000 last week to Today‘s 198,000.
Sunrise won every day and is claiming its highest ever summer share and biggest ever summer margin over Today.
It’s hard to know if Today‘s better performance in the first week was due to Karl Stefanovic’s return, a refreshed team, hefty news or a combination thereof. Curiosity factor often plays a part in strong debut numbers.
Nevertheless it’s not all bad news for Today which won Brisbane on three of the five weekdays (oddly by a mere 1,000 each time) plus one day in Sydney.
Nine is also citing lifts in Melbourne, Adelaide & Perth when comparing the first two weeks of Karl & Ally to that of Georgie Gardner and Deb Knight (which strictly speaking is a different fortnight rather than same calendar dates). Execs will be looking for a ratings “j-curve”, a term which reflects initial curiosity, immediately dropping away before a slow rebuild.
So far both have also weathered the usual clickbait landscape rather well, avoiding gaffes and spotfires synonymous with the genre, with Karl Stefanovic attracting snappy coverage for political interviews, and Sunrise getting positive press for their numbers.
Producers will also be awaiting the return of the school terms as families settle back into daily routines.
| Date | 5 City Metro | National | Sydney | Melbourne | Brisbane | Adelaide | Perth | |
| 13/01/2020 | TODAY | 185,000 | 286,000 | 51,000 | 47,000 | 57,000 | 9,000 | 21,000 |
| SUNRISE | 246,000 | 438,000 | 67,000 | 55,000 | 56,000 | 30,000 | 38,000 | |
| 14/01/2020 | TODAY | 192,000 | 289,000 | 60,000 | 51,000 | 56,000 | 10,000 | 14,000 |
| SUNRISE | 268,000 | 453,000 | 66,000 | 72,000 | 55,000 | 31,000 | 44,000 | |
| 15/01/2020 | TODAY | 197,000 | 298,000 | 63,000 | 52,000 | 51,000 | 11,000 | 19,000 |
| SUNRISE | 283,000 | 483,000 | 69,000 | 57,000 | 74,000 | 34,000 | 48,000 | |
| 16/01/2020 | TODAY | 210,000 | 306,000 | 67,000 | 54,000 | 57,000 | 9,000 | 24,000 |
| SUNRISE | 277,000 | 483,000 | 69,000 | 56,000 | 76,000 | 33,000 | 42,000 | |
| 17/01/2020 | TODAY | 208,000 | 301,000 | 71,000 | 49,000 | 53,000 | 12,000 | 22,000 |
| SUNRISE | 272,000 | 459,000 | 66,000 | 66,000 | 52,000 | 36,000 | 52,000 |
11 Responses
Surprised Today is behind in Melb. (not a lot between Syd & Bris) I generally ignore Adel & Perth
figures, as with News 7’s figures are somewhat misleading.
Wonder if Today were to adopt Melb as home broadcast Venue numbers would improve.
Aust open may shed a little light.
Really put off Today again (rarely watch it anyway) when Channel 9 advertised it as the “best” breakfast show. I must have been asleep over the past few years. Anyway the return of Stephanovic (who I cannot stand) means I will never watch it. Come on Sunrise.
I’ve been watching and enjoying Today much more since Karl’s return. Even the weekend line up is good.
I was going to watch the new Today with Karl Stefanovic until I saw the ad where Karl said that they would be devoting large sections of the show to Grumpy Cat. I’ve seen this meme so often on the Net I don’t need to have it for over three hours when I want news and serious content in the morning. I really thought that it would be quality television again like it was when Steve Liebmann and Liz Hayes hosted it. When they mentioned Grumpy Cat those hopes were dashed and the TV has stayed off Channel Nine.
Thanks for the report David, always keeping us informed. Be interesting to see how it progresses over the next few weeks with the Australian Open on 9. I’ve never been a fan of Karl but putting that aside, something about Ally i just can’t warm to her. I don’t seem to like her personality. I don’t know what it is. In saying this though they are a vast improvement on who was there previously. I remember those first couple of weeks were pretty terrible.
The negfative spin in News Limited papers towards anything Nine is not helping either. Now they own Fairfax they seem to have a target on their back.
Who reads News Limited Papers anyway.
The Macquarie radio network will certainly help the Nine Network.
So Today now advertising biggest ever breakfast tv giveaway. ..A House! Wonder if Sunrise will give away a block of units! !!
Interesting to see whether Today’s OB at the Australian Open from tomorrow will see any changes in ratings, obviously and particularly in Melbourne.
Thankyou David for a great report. I will continue to watch these numbers with interest
Jan2322. Agree. David’s summaries are always very informative.