In the ongoing battle between Seven and Nine breakfast programs, the last thing you’d want to see is a supposed ‘loyal’ viewer cheering for the other team. But that’s exactly what happened yesterday, when a Cash Cow winner on Sunrise mistakenly answered the call with the Today show catch phrase.
An obvious double-dipper, the caller known as John was selected at random to win Sunrise’s $30,000, but when he picked up the phone, he answered with “I wake up with Today” – the response necessary to win the cash on the Today show’s own cash giveaway.
But what could’ve been laughed off instead appeared to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for host David “Kochie” Koch, who unleashed a torrent of insults to poor John over his mistake.
“You stupid man!” he said. “John, why the frick would you wake up with Today?”
The other co-hosts on the couch with Kochie – Natalie Barr, Mark Beretta and Edwina Bartholomew – told Kochie to stop being rude, but it didn’t hold him back.
“I’m not sure we’re gonna give you the bloody cash now you two-timer,” he told John.
Kochie went on to try and explain to John that it wasn’t in fact rival breakfast show Today calling, saying, “John, it’s Sunrise”.
“Sorry?” John replied.
“It’s Australia’s number one breakfast program,” Kochie told him. “Not the imitators.”
Bartholomew appeared visibly shocked by Kochie’s comment, no doubt because it was a clear throwing of shade to Nine over the recent near-court battle where Seven almost sued Nine over their claims of being Australia’s number one breakfast show.
But John wasn’t a total moron, and eventually caught on, asking, “Is that David Koch?”
“It is, John,” a very serious Kochie said.
“Oh you’re joking,” John said. “I’ve seen other people do it David, I know you get a laugh out of it.”
And after the recent announcement that Nine would be suing New Idea – which is published by Seven West Media-owned Pacific Magazines over their Karl Stefanovic rumours – it looks like the war between the two networks is far from over.
