‘Georgie lacks warmth and viewers think she stabbed Karl in the back’: TV expert slams the new Today show amid dwindling ratings – and reveals who Channel Nine should’ve hired instead
Channel Nine’s new-look Today show is suffering from dismal ratings.
And as executives scramble for answers, one TV expert has claimed that co-host Georgie Gardner should have been sacked at the same time as Karl Stefanovic so the program started 2019 with a ‘clean slate’.
Kevin Perry, the Media Editor at TV Blackbox, told Daily Mail Australia on Friday: ‘Nine have made changes to the cast, but the problem is they haven’t gone far enough. Georgie lacks warmth in the hosting role and there is a perception from some viewers that she has stabbed Karl in the back.’
‘Georgie lacks warmth and viewers think she stabbed Karl in the back’: TV expert Kevin Perry has slammed the new Today show amid dwindling ratings – and reveals who Channel Nine should’ve hired instead. Pictured: Deborah Knight (left) and Georgie Gardner (right)
Karl and Georgie hosted the Today show together for 12 months, but it is understood they strongly disliked each other behind the scenes.
Karl was axed from the program on December 19, before fellow Today stars Sylvia Jeffreys and Tim Gilbert were also shown the door.
Georgie remained as the sole survivor of what Channel Nine insiders described at the time as a ‘bloodbath’.
But Kevin claimed this was a mistake, saying: ‘Nine had the opportunity to completely reboot Today with new people and they failed to do that.’
Gone! Karl was axed from the Today show on December 19, with Georgie staying on as co-host
Should she have been sacked too? Kevin told Daily Mail Australia ‘Nine had the opportunity to completely reboot Today with new people’. Georgie is pictured in 2018 with Karl Stefanovic
The media analyst added that Sarah Harris and Basil Zempilas ‘would have made an excellent alternative to the current lineup’.
Sarah, 37, currently co-hosts Studio 10 on Channel 10, while Basil, 47, is an anchor on Weekend Sunrise.
Kevin further claimed that producers should be worried ‘there is a real perception problem that Today is a Sydney show that only reports Sydney news’.
Missed opportunity? The media analyst added that Sarah Harris (right) and Basil Zempilas (left) ‘would have made an excellent alternative to the current lineup’
For the past two weeks, Today has been broadcasting from Melbourne – but Kevin said the show’s poor ratings indicate that the city is not responding to the program.
Thursday’s edition of the Today show garnered just 194,000 metro viewers, according to OzTam overnight figures.
Breakfast rival Sunrise was way out in front, with 255,000 people tuning in from the five capital cities.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine for comment.
Disappointing: Thursday’s edition of the Today show garnered just 194,000 metro viewers, according to OzTam overnight figures. Pictured (left to right): Brooke Boney, Tony Jones, Deborah Knight, Georgie Gardner and Tom Steinfort