Channel 7 has declared “the numbers don’t lie” after rival community Nine made a defiant assertion about its struggling breakfast present scores.
The long-running warfare between Sunrise and Today has escalated right this moment, with Nine pressured to defend this system’s declining numbers following a report within the Daily Telegraph, by which a supply mentioned executives have been frightened the brand new look line-up with Karl Stefanovic joined by Sarah Abo “wasn’t connecting with viewers”.
The publication cited scores for this yr as the foundation of the considerations, with year-to-date common nationwide viewers numbers exhibiting Sunrise holds a 34 per cent lead on Today with 363,000 common viewers in comparison with Today at 271,000. News.com.au has seen knowledge to substantiate these numbers.
But Nine swiftly hit out on the report, with director of morning tv Steven Burling claiming the story was “fabrication and a distortion of the old fashioned and out of date overnight ratings system.” Burling added Today was in a “good position” within the “all important younger demographics.”
The assertion has raised eyebrows over at Sunrise’s camp, with a Seven spokesperson telling news.com.au the scores positioning Sunrise on prime have been correct.
“The numbers don’t lie. Sunrise has been number one for 19 years and is number one again this year, across the capital cities and nationally,” the spokesperson mentioned.
“Sunrise wins in Sydney, New South Wales, Victoria, Adelaide, South Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland. It is growing well in Melbourne. Today is ahead in Brisbane.”
The spokesperson additionally debunked considered one of Today’s claims that it was effectively positioned among the many key youthful demographics, arguing Sunrise leads within the 25 to 54s bracket. However, Today pips Sunrise amongst viewers aged between 16 and 39.
Abo joined Stefanovic in the beginning of this yr after Allison Langdon accepted a job at A Current Affair.
There have since been a number of reshuffles on the Today desk, together with newsreader Alex Cullen being relegated to only reporting on sport, whereas leisure reporter Brooke Boney took over the news phase from him.
In the Nine assertion, Mr Burling mentioned the group was “working brilliantly” for Today, and that the viewers response to the line-up “couldn’t be more positive”.
Sunrise has lengthy come out on prime in scores towards Today. Today celebrated a uncommon win over Sunrise within the five-city metro scores on February 27 due to the domino impact of Married At First Sight’s prime time success.
The hole between the rival brekky exhibits was rising narrower all through 2021, although scores for final yr and into 2023 seem to indicate it widening once more.
Sunrise’s loyal viewership undoubtedly has lots to do with its reputation, with David Koch having hosted this system for over 20 years. His co-host, Natalie Barr, has been on the desk in various capacities for a similar period of time.
Originally printed as War between Sunrise and Today explodes as networks go head-to-head with newest scores
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
