Karl’s Today comeback a ratings flop
Karl Stefanovic's breakfast TV comeback has been a ratings flop.
The Australian reports that the latest ratings show that viewers have backed in Seven's Sunrise as the number one program in the critical morning television timeslot.
This is despite Nine's decision to resurrect Stefanovic on Today in a desperate bid to make up the ground it has conceded to Sunrise in recent years.
The story of Australia's devastating bushfire tragedy gave both shows a new-year ratings spike.
But it wasn't enough for Today to beat the Nine program's average ratings numbers for the past three years, nor to cause any concerns for its arch rival, hosted by Samantha Armytage and David Koch.
Today hit a new low last Monday, according to The Australian.
Stefanovic and co-host Allison Langdon only managed to attract 185,000 viewers across the five metropolitan cities and once more failed to reach 200,000 sets of eye-balls the following day (192,000).
The Australian quotes former Today executive producer Steve Wood as saying Sunrise looks "pretty smart, pretty slick", while the Stefanovich show was "still struggling to find its feet".
"I think the production values have got to be raised quite a bit to counteract what Sunrise are doing," Wood said.
"I think they're (Today) struggling purely by not having enough people on the ground."
Wood also reportedly said Stefanovic looked out of shape and needed to dress better, while saying Armytage and Koch were a "slick team".
"He needs to lose weight (and) stop shopping at St Vincent's," Wood reportedly said.
"(Armytage and Koch) are comfortable. They look like a married couple."
A Nine spokeswoman reportedly said it was too early to write off Stefanovic's return as a failed experiment. "This timeslot is a marathon … everyone is focused on making a great show."
