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Viewer favourite ... a spate of recent stunts by Karl Stefanovic has seen the Today show’s audience jump. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
PUBLICITY savvy Karl Stefanovic appears to have single-handedly lifted the ratings for the Nine Network’s breakfast show Today.
Stefanovic has pulled off a number of recent stunts which has coincided with a lift in ratings for the Nine Network’s breakfast show.
From selling a suit he wore everyday this year to playing hardball with the Prime Minister and his merry men, Stefanovic’s sideshow Bob tactic is having a positive effect.
Hard line ... Karl Stefanovic berated embattled Prime Minister Tony Abbott, in an exchange that quickly went viral. Source: Supplied
Today’s average audience until December 9 is 20,000 more than the average viewing audience was for the whole of November.
At the same time Today’s arch rival breakfast show Sunrise has had a slight downturn with 22,000 fewer viewers in December than in November.
SEXISM EXPERIMENT: Karl Stefanovic auctions blue ‘sexism’ suit for women’s violence campaign
However, the Seven Network’s Sunrise, with David Koch and Samantha Armytage at the helm, has been the clear winner in the ratings war all year and still has a solid lead over Today.
But the gap between the two shows has started to close since Stefanovic made national and international headlines for selling his Burberry knock-off suit on eBay.
Feminist crusader? ... Karl Stefanovic made a glaring point about sexism by wearing the same suit every single day for a year — and no one noticed. He then auctioned it off for charity. Picture: John Appleyard Source: News Corp Australia
And there should be no discounting the importance of winning the breakfast ratings war and the need for Today to lift its audience numbers.
Until Stefanovic upped the anti by selling his suit online, Today was faring poorly against the tight knit Sunrise team. The gap between the two breakfast shows (7am-9am) had doubled between February and November.
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Sunrise averaged 338,000 viewers and Today had 299,000 sets of eyes in February alone, while in November Sunrise leapt to 378,000 viewers and Today dipped to 295,000.
The overall year-to date figures (7am-9am) are heavily in favour of Sunrise with an average of 350,000 viewers per show compared to Today’s 295,000.
Powerful duo . while Sunrise might still be on top, the Today show hosted by Lisa Wilkinson and Karl Stefanovic is nipping at its heels. Picture: Chris McCormack. Source: News Corp Australia
The breakfast timeslot is the window to the rest of the day’s programming and its where the network’s showcase their prime time shows. Its why Network Ten poured copious amounts of money into the ill-fated Wake Up.
Besides Stefanovic successfully planting himself in the media of late, Sunrise will not be outdone.
The ever-single Armytage is fodder for the glossy women’s mags and daily gossip columns. This week Woman’s Day suggested the 37-year-old was dating actor Russell Crowe and earlier in the year she was outed as having a five-hour lunch with Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet.
Magazine fodder ... Sunrise host Samantha Armytage’s personal life often makes the gossip pages. Picture: Instagram Source: Instagram
Armytage is also very open about her life and has spoken about weight issues and tweeted about her recent new hairdo which was labelled a “Lara Bingle bobâ€.
Now ratings season is over, the publicity machines behind both shows are unlikely to slow down.
Sunrise and Today need to retain their loyal viewers and attract new ones over the summer.
So expect more antics from Stefanovic and more talk about Armytage being single, her weight issues and her hair in the coming weeks and months.
TODAY Show host Karl Stefanovic tells PM Tony Abbott that 'no-one is buying what he's selling' at the moment. Courtesy: Channel Nine/The TODAY Show