Read our preview for tomorrow’s INSIDE MAIL – the must-read media and politics column from Daily Mail Australia’s political editor Peter van Onselen and acclaimed reporter and TV insider Steve Jackson.
Earlier this month, we revealed Samantha Armytage had split from her husband, Southern Highlands horse whisperer Richard Lavender, just shy of their fourth anniversary.
Sam the human headline has been at the centre of a publicity storm since signing with Nine in September after more than two decades at arch rival Seven.
And all eyes were on her after she slipped into the saddle on the Today show on Monday for a two-week fill-in stint alongside weatherman Dan Astley, while the A-team, Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo, are off making the most of the summer.
Well, perhaps not all eyes.
According to the OzTam ratings, most viewers this week have been still been tuning into Sunrise – Armytage’s old stomping ground – where new kid on the block David Woiwod has been co-hosting with Monique Wright.
Wright is, of course, the Seven stalwart who replaced Armytage on Weekend Sunrise back in 2014 when she was promoted to the main show alongside David Koch.
It seems most people quite enjoy having Woiwod and Wright on their television sets over breakfast – and why not? He’s a likeable chap and she’s a total pro.
Everyone may have been talking about Samantha Armytage’s Today show debut on Monday alongside weatherman Dan Astley… but they’ve been watching Sunrise instead
The pair are so appealing to viewers that they’ve have been cleaning up the ratings, winning by 979,000 to Today’s 754,000 in their total nationwide reach on Monday.
What’s more, the dynamic duo extended their lead the following day, claiming victory with 980,000 viewers to just 749,000.
Yep, for all the headlines Today has been generating since Sam started filling in, she hasn’t had a significant impact on the ratings. And TV is a numbers game.
Still, the real question we’ve been itching to ask (and so we did) is what Woiwod and Wright’s colleagues at Sunrise make of seeing their old host Armytage on Today.
Well, turns out… not much.
‘It was all a bit of a trainwreck, all the publicity and dramas that they’ve cooked up around Sam, and yet people genuinely just aren’t that interested,’ one well-placed Sunrise source told us.
‘Everyone was talking about Sam being on Today… but no one was watching.
‘Meanwhile, the ratings for Woiwod and Mon have been amazing – it shows people are ready for something fun and new. Sam’s very much yesterday’s hero.’
Dynamic duo Monique Wright and David Woiwod have wowed viewers this week
Over the Harbour Bridge and across the other side of town at Nine’s North Sydney headquarters, they’ve opted to read the tea leaves rather than the official numbers – and who could blame them?
‘Look, sure, the numbers have been soft… but it’s non-ratings and there’s already people away on holidays, so you don’t want to read to much into that,’ one Nine insider tried to assure themselves as much as us.
‘If you’ve been watching this week, you’ve seen there’s a lot of energy to Sam and a sense of fun – she certainly lights up the screen and she’s a star.
‘Obviously, the temptation will be to put her with Karl in the new year but there’s no suggestion we would move on Sarah [Abo] – she’s really popular with our audience.
‘But the feeling is everyone is pleased… it should be no surprise – Sam has always tested really well.
‘She’s also got versatility – she’s got a journo background and when she was at Seven she did everything from breakfast TV to Today Tonight and Sunday Night – you never know where she’ll end up.’
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