Wake Up strangled by Sunrise and Today

Wake Up strangled by Sunrise and Today
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



The death of Ten’s breakfast program Wake Up is not surprising, according to media analyst Steve Allen who said the network is in a “ratings hole”.

Wake Up had “nowhere to go”, according to Fusion Strategy’s Steve Allen who said Seven and Nine “brilliantly defended” their breakfast audiences.

“Wake Up’s biggest problem was that there was no audience available for them,” Allen said.

The well entrenched Today and Sunrise “threw millions” of dollars towards advertising and prize based promotions in the first month Wake Up  was on air to minimise audience loses.

“There was just no spring board for Wake Up. It didn’t gel on air and the first two days were agonising, you can’t launch a new live show that way.”

Allen previously told B&T that Wake Up’s first few days on air were “clunky”.

There are reports that suggest the axing of Ten’s early, morning and late news bulletins will have a negative impact on Ten’s flagship 5pm news program.

But Allen disagrees: “Ratings for the 5pm news haven’t changed that much so I don’t think there is going to be any knock on effect from that. They are simply moving out of the more broad based news strategy.”

Wake Up is Ten’s second recent failed push into breakfast TV with Breakfast axed in November 2012 after less than a year on air.

If Ten is going to lift itself out of the “ratings hole” Allen said it needs to come up with a clear strategy, and buy and commission some peak programs.

“But this is the problem, if you were the producer of a show where would you go last? They [Ten] are not the first port of call.”




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