Other
Australian breakfast TV – and the fight for eyeballs
The Conversation, Vol.25 May 2014
The Conversation Media Group
2014
Abstract
The axe swung at Network Ten and removed the head of its breakfast program Wake Up - just over six months since it launched.
And why?
Nobody was watching.
The 6am to 9am timeslot has been a hotly contested battleground for channels Seven and Nine in recent years. Network Ten decided it wanted a slice of that pie and last year started its tilt at the nation’s early-rising TV watchers.
It had all the hallmarks of success – money was being poured in and Adam Boland, the man who steered Seven’s Sunrise to ratings glory, was at the helm.
How could it fail?
An awful lot of money was spent on the set at Sydney’s Manly Beach. Three recognisable, but not necessarily well-known faces - Natarsha Belling, James Mathison and Natasha Exelby - were Wake Up’s hosts. There was a nationwide, get-to-know-us tour. But moments after its launch cracks started to appear. Creator Adam Boland’s battle with his mental health saw him sidelined and within weeks, Exelby was dropped and the the three-headed presenting team became two.
Details
- Title
- Australian breakfast TV – and the fight for eyeballs
- Authors/Creators
- A. Porter (Author/Creator)
- Publication Details
- The Conversation, Vol.25 May 2014
- Publisher
- The Conversation Media Group
- Identifiers
- 991005543265407891
- Copyright
- The Author
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Arts
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Other
- Publisher URL
- http://theconversation.com/au
- Resource Sub-type
- Nonrefereed Article
Metrics
24 Record Views