The numbers are in! ABC News Breakfast dominates the ratings as it beats Sunrise for the first time ever
Thursday morning saw ABC News Breakfast beat Sunrise and Today in the ratings for the first time ever.
News Breakfast’s metro audience of 310,000 put it ahead of commercial networks Seven (308,000) and Nine (258,000) in the 7am to 9am time slot.
The rise in numbers could be a result of the ABC’s extensive coverage of the U.S. presidential election.
Thursday morning saw ABC News breakfast dominate the ratings with 310,000 metro viewers tuning in. Pictured: hosts Michael Rowland and Lisa Miller
Presenter Michael Rowland, who is covering the election in Washington, D.C., told TV Tonight: ‘It has been shown that viewers will always flock to the breakfast show with a heavy and trusted focus on news when the big stories break.
‘As a former U.S. corespondent, having me on the ground to co-anchor the show has also added has added to the credibility of what the ABC has been offering, not just at breakfast but through the week.’
It comes after Sunrise got a boost in ratings at the start of October after hosts Sam Armytage and David ‘Kochie Koch returned to the couch five days a week.
Falling behind: It marked the first time the breakfast program has ever beat Sunrise in the 7-9am timeslot. Pictured: hosts Samantha Armytage and David Koch
In the week ending October 9, Seven’s breakfast program beat Nine’s Today show every day of the week.
On Monday, October 5, Sunrise raked in 230,000 metro viewers to Today’s 183,000.
On Tuesday, the program scored 231,000 viewers while Today had just 190,000.
Trailing: In the week ending October 9, the popular breakfast show beat their Channel Nine rival, the Today show every day of the week. Pictured: Today host Karl Stefanovic
The trend continued for the rest of the week with Wednesday seeing Sunrise score 225,000 to Today’s 186,000.
Thursday was 231,000 to 204,000, and Friday was 225,000 to 202,000.
Sam and Kochie were previously both working four-day weeks, with newsreader Natalie Barr filling in for Sam on Mondays and Kochie on Fridays.
It’s believed this shift pattern had allowed Today to pull ahead on the east coast in September, prompting Seven bosses to put both anchors back on full time.
Hosting: Sunrise newsreader Natalie Barr has been filling in for Samantha on Mondays and David on Fridays. Pictured L to R: Natalie, Samantha, David and Mark Beretta