The Ten Network’s new Breakfast show debuts today (Thursday) following news last night of the resignation of Kevin Rudd from the position of Foreign Minister.
The new program was originally scheduled to launch on Monday.
Breakfast co-host Paul Henry (pictured, second from left) confirmed the sudden programming change on Ten’s The Project last night:
“This is a hugely exciting evening. We are not launching Breakfast on Monday. Ten are launching Breakfast tomorrow morning at 6am. How good is that!”
Joining Henry on Breakfast will be Andrew Rochford, Kathryn Robinson and Magdalena Roze.
And in an interview published in this week’s TV Week, Sunrise producer Michael Pell is not overly concerned about his show’s new competitor. “We just concentrate on what we do and what we’ve got coming up. We don’t look over our shoulder,” he said. And in comparison to the successful chemistry between Sunrise presenters Melissa Doyle, David Koch, Natalie Barr, Mark Beretta and Grant Denyer, Pell says Ten’s combination is an unknown quantity. “The presenters on Ten’s new show… we haven’t seen them work together. So it’s anyone’s guess how it will turn out – chemistry is the key.”
Meanwhile, Today co-host Karl Stefanovic welcomed the addition of the new Ten program as it will force all players to be at their competitive best and viewers will be the winners there. “The more competition in the slot, the better it is for everyone,” he said.
Currently, Sunrise still dominates the breakfast slot nationally, and while Today is ranked second nationally it is now leading in the key markets of Sydney and Melbourne. ABC News Breakfast is coming a distant third.
Breakfast. Weekdays, starting today, 23 February, 6.00am. Ten.
Sunrise. Weekdays 6.00am, Seven.
Today. Weekdays 5.30am, Nine.
ABC News Breakfast. Weekdays 6.00am, ABC1, and 6.00am (live, AEDST) on ABC News 24.
Source: Network Ten. TV Week, 25 February 2012. The Age.
