Karl Stefanovic was unceremoniously sacked as host of the Today show in December – with his tumultuous personal life blamed for the program’s dwindling ratings.
But viewership has continued to plummet since Karl’s departure, particularly in the 44-year-old’s home state of Queensland.
Now sources at Channel Nine have claimed this week’s decision to broadcast from Queensland was actually an ’emergency tour’ of the Sunshine State in a bid to win back audiences.
Quest for ratings: Insiders have told Daily Mail Australia that the Today show is ‘touring Karl Stefanovic’s home state of Queensland in a bid to win back viewers’
However, Channel Nine insists the Today show is only touring Queensland to ‘showcase the beauty of the region’ following the devastating floods.
A spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘After months of devastating weather, the Today show in conjunction with Tourism QLD is doing a week of OBs [outside broadcasts] from North Queensland to show viewers the beauty of the region and that they’re back in business.
‘We’re also catching up with families we were fortunate enough to help out during the crises.’
Denial: However, Channel Nine insists the Today show is only touring Queensland to ‘showcase the beauty of the region’ following the devastating floods. Pictured: Karl Stefanovic and Deborah Knight
The Today show’s new lineup, featuring Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight as co-hosts, has failed to appeal to metro viewers in Brisbane.
Ratings in Queensland’s captial city have significantly declined since Karl was dismissed in late 2018.
Robert McKnight, the editor of industry website TV Blackbox, said Channel Nine will be pulling ‘every trick out of the bag’ to boost ratings in coming months.
‘Viewers in Queensland and Melbourne are very parochial, so if you can show them a bit of love it can often translate into a bump in ratings,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
Robert continued: ‘With the way things are going for Today they will be pulling every trick out of the bag and Brisbane is a good place to start as road trips are a great way of engaging the local community.
‘Once you’ve got the team up there you will get the team in the local papers and on local radio stations, so not only are viewers seeing the results on air, they’re seeing and hearing about the show in other mediums.’
Robert explained that Karl had ‘a very strong connection with Queensland,’ adding: ‘The team have to work out a way to offset viewer turn-off now that he’s gone.
‘Brisbane has always been a fluctuating market and one that can make or break a breakfast show, so there’s no doubt this is a play to appeal to viewers up there.
‘One of Today’s biggest drops has been in Melbourne, a market they were once No. 1 in, so I’d expect to see a lot of Melbourne trips over the coming six months in addition to the Brisbane trips.’
Desperate: Robert McKnight, the editor of industry website TV Blackbox, said Channel Nine will be pulling ‘every trick out of the bag’ to boost ratings in coming months. Pictured: Karl Stefanovic and Georgie Gardner
When Karl was still co-hosting Today last year, one week in October pulled in a total viewership of 292,000 across Brisbane.
But a sample week in March this years shows that the Brisbane audience has dropped by 43,000 viewers to just 249,000.
Similarly, the Today show pulled in a total of 335,000 viewers in Brisbane over one week in November 2018, the month before Karl was sacked.
But for the week commencing April 1, 2019, the audience was just 256,000.
Upon its debut in January, the revamped Today show was smashed in the ratings by Channel Seven’s Sunrise, drawing in a paltry 197,000 metro viewers.
In early March, the show was attracting just 167,000 viewers across the five capital cities, which marked the lowest figures since 2006.
In a recent statement to TV Tonight, Nine’s Head of Content Production and Development, Adrian Swift, said viewers should give the Today show a chance.
‘The reality is when you change your lineup it takes a long time to bed in,’ he said. ‘We’re not concerned. We are absolutely convinced we will get there.’
Bad news: The Today show’s new lineup, featuring Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight (pictured) as co-hosts, has failed to appeal to metro viewers in Brisbane
Today’s ratings began a steep decline in 2016, when Karl left his wife-of-21-years Cassandra Thorburn and began dating a younger woman, fashion designer Jasmine Yarbrough, months later.
Audience figures plunged to a 12-year low in September 2018, and it’s understood network executives finally decided to axe Karl after his ‘over-the-top’ wedding to Jasmine in Mexico on December 8.
Channel Nine insiders told The Australian that management had no choice but to sack the host due to the ‘crazy’ media headlines surrounding his personal life.
Sacked: Karl, who hails from Queensland, was unceremoniously sacked as host of the Today show in December, after his personal life was blamed for the program’s dwindling ratings