Losing his spark? Today show ratings plummet to new low of 155,000 metro viewers less than three months after Karl Stefanovic’s return
Despite Karl Stefanovic’s anticipated return to breakfast TV, Nine’s Today show recorded its lowest audience in 2020 on Monday, with a meagre 155,000 metro viewers tuning in.
The ratings haven’t been as low since November 1, 2019, when the show was being hosted by Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight, according to Mumbrella.
Meanwhile, Monday also saw rival Seven’s Sunrise experience its second lowest rating episode this year.
Losing his spark? Today show ratings continue to plummet to new low of 155,000 metro viewers less than three months after Karl Stefanovic returned to the helm (Pictured alongside co-host Allison Langdon)
Channel Nine’s head of news and current affairs, Darren Wick, said he has faith in his new panel ‘finding its rhythm’ among viewers.
Backing Karl and co-host Allison Langdon as ‘the right team’ for the job, Wick told The Australian last month: ‘Hand on heart, I’m not bothered by the ratings.’
The metro ratings measure TV viewers across five capital cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Rock bottom: In November 2019, with Deborah Knight and Georgie Gardner at the helm, Today suffered its worst ratings ever, hitting an all-time low of just 155,000 metro viewers
‘We’re not even two months in’: Nine’s head of news and current affairs claims he has faith in his new-look panel ‘finding its rhythm’ among viewers and is confident ratings will improve
The recent results consistently show Nine’s rival Sunrise ahead of the pack when it comes to viewer retention in metro and regional audiences.
Sunrise pulled in 259,000 metro viewers, while ABC’s News Breakfast brought in 112,000 viewers on its primary channel.
However, the latest survey hasn’t considered the fact that Monday was a public holiday in Melbourne and South Australia, which affected all morning shows across the board.
Major hit: Meanwhile, Monday’s survey results also saw rival network Sunrise experience its second lowest rating episode this year. The Seven show pulled in 259,000 metro viewers, while ABC’s News Breakfast brought in 112,000 viewers on its primary channel
Channel Nine declined to comment when Daily Mail Australia reached out.
In November 2019, with Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight at the helm, Today suffered its worst ratings ever, hitting an all-time low of just 155,000 viewers across five capital cities.
That same month, it was announced Deb and Georgie would be departing the program, with Karl returning once again alongside Allison.
‘Yes, I am as shocked about this as everyone else. It’s not something that I thought would come up again,’ Karl told The Sydney Morning Herald in November, upon hearing the announcement of his return.
Marching orders: Karl was famously axed from the program in December 2018, after 14 years of hosting the long-running TV show