Channel Ten star Sarah Harris has poked fun at her own network after a string of disappointing ratings.
Harris, who hosts Ten’s ratings-hungry breakfast show Studio 10, toasted her network’s battered viewership as she co-hosted the Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism with Ten star Lachlan Kennedy on Friday night.
As Media Diary reported, Harris exclaimed smugly in front of the 500 media professionals in attendance, “Wow, so that’s what having an audience is like!”
Studio Ten host Sarah Harris (pictured) poked fun at her network’s ailing ratings on Friday night as she co-hosted the annual Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism in New South Wales on Friday night alongside Ten star Lachlan Kennedy
Kennedy continued with his own humble quip after releasing reports on his new breakfast program 10 News First: Breakfast, which hit an all-time low in ratings last week.
Kennedy welcomed the ratings disaster in good spirits, declaring, “I’m the host of 10 News First: Breakfast – thanks everyone for watching.”
The cutting gag reportedly got a lot of laughs from the audience.
As Media Diary reported, Harris exclaimed smugly in front of the 500 media professionals in attendance, “Wow, so that’s what having an audience is like!”
Kennedy continued with his own humble quip after releasing reports on his new breakfast program 10 News First: Breakfast, which hit an all-time low in ratings last week. Pictured: 10 News First: Breakfast hosts Natasha Exelby (left) and Lachlan Kennedy (right)
It comes after it was revealed that 10 News First: Breakfast took a huge nosedive last Wednesday when it failed to attract a single viewer in the metropolitan city of Perth.
Perth, which has a population of 2.1 million, is one of the top five metropolitan areas used to measure the popularity of Australian programming.
The 30-minute show, hosted by Lachlan Kennedy and Natasha Exelby, has struggled to gain momentum since it launched on June 27.
It comes after it was revealed that 10 News First: Breakfast took a huge nosedive last Wednesday when it failed to attract a single viewer in the metropolitan city of Perth. (Image left: Lachlan Kennedy; right: Natasha Exelby)
But despite the crushingly low ratings, Ten has remained optimistic, telling The Australian on Monday: “10 News First: The breakfast edition keeps its audience and increases engagement as viewers become more familiar with the timeslot.”
An OzTAM spokesperson also told The Australian that the disastrous result could be attributed to the use of “small underlying viewing patterns”.
It’s the latest in a series of crushing blows to Ten’s new breakfast offering.
During its first five days on the air, the 8am show drew an average of 17,000 viewers in the five major cities, but that number dropped to just 15,000 per day in week two
During its first five days on the air, the 8am show drew an average of 17,000 viewers in the five major cities, but that number dropped to just 15,000 per day in week two.
The show managed to deliver the lowest ratings in Australian television history on its second day after only 44 viewers tuned in from Sydney.
On the same day, the national broadcast in Perth drew just 224 viewers.
It comes after Channel 10 categorically denied rumors that Studio 10 was on the chopping block. (Pictured: Hosts Sarah Harris and Tristan MacManus)
On another day in the second week, the program reached only 43 viewers in Perth and 557 in Melbourne.
However, a Channel 10 spokesman told The Australian last month that the network was pleased with the results.
“Network 10 is excited to launch 10 News First: Breakfast. It lifted the 2022 timeslot average by 13 percent in its first week.’
But a 10-year spokesman has dismissed the speculation, telling the Chron Australia the scheme remains profitable and is going nowhere
Ten dropped the first half hour of Studio 10 and replaced it with the new morning bulletin last month.
It comes after Channel 10 denied rumors that Studio 10 was on the chopping block.
The morning show has struggled with ratings for years and The Australian reports there are now fears within the network it could soon face the axe.
But a 10-year spokesman has dismissed the speculation, telling the Chron Australia the scheme remains profitable and is going nowhere.
This isn’t the first time Channel 10 has engaged in damage control after a breakfast TV show spectacularly flopped.
The station’s last attempt at a breakfast program, Wake Up, was canceled in 2014 after just six months on the air.
The program was launched in November 2013 to compete with Channel Seven’s Sunrise and Channel Nine’s Today Show but failed miserably.
Channel 10’s last attempt at a breakfast programme, Wake Up, was canceled in 2014 after six months on the air. Pictured: James Mathison (left), Natarsha Belling (middle) and Natasha Exelby (right)