I think Nine would care more about the demos. Is Today still winning demos/early etc?
In 25-54 Sunrise ranked 24th. Today was 34th. Havenât got any early numbers.
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Well thatâs surely going to raise the alarm bells at TCN. Today used to be a clear winner at demos but languishing behind Sunrise even in demos, thatâs surely got to be really concerning.
Quite ironic at a time when Nine is dominating primetime while breakfast is slowly dying. Quite reminiscent of Sunrise back in early 2016.
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And it isnât just a one morning result that is concerning; itâs been coming - just yesterday I noted that Today has averaged around 50,000 less than Sunrise for the last 6 weeks - when talking about shows that only have 200-300,000 viewers, 50,000 is a big 20% difference.
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Good opportunity for another commercial network to jump into the mix with a clear cut morning news bulletin with so many viewers obviously dropping away from The Today Show.
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WIN has already done that. 
The Today Showâs worst audience in more than a decade yesterday according to TVT, relating it to Jess Roweâs disastrous 2006.
We can officially start the guessing game now as to what Nine execs are going to do. For mine:
Nothing can not be done and as Karl is untouchable, sorry Georgie thatâs you. And sheâd be seen higher in Nine ranks than Deb Knight (surely?)
So could Deb really be sacked / dropped or whatever⌠By a second network 
That poor lady. Harsh but thatâs my tip.
That doesnât make sense - why should Deb be thrown under the bus when she isnât a full time member of the show?
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Yes. Doesnât make sense.
Wow those are disatrous ratings. Something needs to be done. Like we had hoped at the beginning of this year, hopefully next year they actually change the format up and become more newsie.
Aim for a point of difference. Change up the presenters. Relocate to another city (Melbourne). Broadcast from the news studio.
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I donât know about that. I have a feeling Karl has wanted to quit for a while now but the Nine execs have wanted him to stay. Thereâs been a lot of talk about Karl not wanting to be there and phoning in his performance, which is affecting ratings. Maybe the execs will take note of this.
Funny thing happened last week with Fitzy and Wippa. They did a phoner segment with Tim Blackwell, who was on the set of Today. Tim put Karl on the phone and they had a chat. Fitzy said Karl probably needs to get back to hosting and Karl made a joke about not actually doing any work that day anyway. Fitzy jokingly said that this had been the case for the last six months and Karl just laughed out loud. 
They are all mates and I think there was a lot of truth in that, which sounded like Fitzy let slip.
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nine needs to let him go and go asap otherwise it will forever trail sunrise
Sorry if it wasnât clear, I was referring to Nine News which she presents does she not? And hence Georgie retuning after getting the dump in place of someone else on Today. Just one theory.
That would be like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic.
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As Iâve said before, one of the biggest problems with Today is that itâs a mostly NSW/QLD-centric w***fest as far as presenters are concerned. Thatâs gotta be a turn-off for viewers in Victoria, for example.
For all the faults of Sunrise (and there are very many these days), one of the things they do quite well is having a mix of presenters that most states can connect to.
If Nine really are stupid enough to shaft Deborah Knight for a third time (first was overlooking her as GGâs successor of Today newsreader in favour of Sylvia, 2nd was the axing of Financial Review Sunday), I reckon Ten would try and do another Lisa Wilkinson/Jennifer Keyte by very quickly trying to get her back to their network!
And yes I know Ten let go of Deborah Knight years ago, but theyâre under different management now and I highly doubt sheâd continually hold a grudge against Ten if they were to come up to Deb and give her a better offer than Nine are providing now.
Yes, Deborah Knight currently presents the Friday & Saturday night editions of Nine News Sydney. I think she may also do some fill-in presenting on Today or Today Extra from time to time, but donât quote me on that.
Granted that Georgieâs been at the network for longer, but Deb isnât exactly an unpopular presenter on Nine News Sydney (absolutely smashing Fergo in the ratings when she filled in for both Pete & GG during one of the Origin weeks last year IIRC) so Iâd imagine Darren Wick & Simon Hobbs would take that into account.
I reckon Ten might be secretly waiting for the ratings to drop a bit further and then launch a competing breakfast show.
I canât see Deb leaving the network though, sheâs been very loyal to Nine over the past few years.
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Me either she has proven to Nine she is a versatile presenter and l believe she will remain at Nine.
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Even if Georgie was pushed or leaves Today on her own accord it doesnât necessarily mean she will return to her former role (which many members here would love to see) on Nine News pushing Deb aside.
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Eek. I am actually surprised that it has taken this long for them to even consider making changes!
Whilst I know News Breakfast is the only breakfast show whose ratings have increased year on year, most of Todayâs viewers have fled to Sunrise. This indicates that Today needs to consider more entertainment and tabloid news (Sunriseâs 6am news was much worse-stories that were irrelevant and non-current- than what today had this morning).
Replacing another host (and the suggestion of Georgie too) within 12 months wonât help anyone in terms of stability. Whilst I acknowledge that they both donât want to be there (only in it for $$), Nine have not exhaused every measure: local news, people stories, extended investigations, campaigns, refinement of rundown for more appropriate placement,celebrity guests, live music performances every day (combination of in-studio and OB), set and graphics relaunch, relocation, PROMOS.
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Karl Stefanovic is probably nearing the end of his time as Todayâs male co-presenter, personally I think heâll step down from the role by 2020 at the very latest, maybe staying with Nine to do 60 Minutes or other special programs (perhaps becoming this generationâs Ray Martin or Mike Munro?) but thatâs about it.
I definitely agree that another new co-presenter for Today in the immediate future wonât do anything good in terms of stability though, just take a look at the continually revolving door of talent that is Seven News for a good example!
Arenât all presenters on commercial breakfast TV only it for the money though? 
Iâd probably say that Nine needs to seriously consider most of the things youâve mentioned, although a relocation to Melbourne is highly unlikely.
In any case, Nine needs to do something about Today soon because all the problems in the morning are probably starting to affect their 6pm news ratings if they havenât already!
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