Channel Seven was dealt a humiliating blow last Wednesday when its ratings giant Sunrise performed poorly in Melbourne.
The breakfast show dominates the market nationally but struggled to maintain its peak audience in the Victorian capital last week, attracting just 29,000 viewers.
To make the blow even more bitter, the paltry viewing tally was exactly the same number garnered by ABC children’s show The Adventures of Paddington.
Meanwhile, Sunrise’s rival on Channel Nine, Today, more than doubled the Seven show’s ratings in Melbourne on the same day, gaining 65,000 viewers in the city.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Seven for comment.
Despite Sunrise’s poor performance in Melbourne, the popular breakfast show, led by Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington, continues to hold the national crown.
For the 21st year in a row, the show has retained its title as the most popular television breakfast show on Australian television.
Rival show Today, hosted by Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo, attracted 311,000 viewers nationwide, while Sunrise easily took the lead with 379,000.
Channel Seven was dealt a humiliating blow last Wednesday when Sunrise, directed by Natalie Barr (left) and Matt Shirvington (right), attracted just 29,000 viewers in Melbourne.
It comes amid reports that Seven and Nine are locked in a cruel ‘star war’ as they try to convince their rivals’ best and brightest talent to change the channel.
Sources inside Seven’s Sydney headquarters said the network has been forced to fend off Nine’s interest in at least half a dozen of its young reporters as the two broadcasters battle for ratings supremacy.
The attempted talent raid comes as Seven launched its own assault on Nine’s ranks, convincing three of its star AFL panellists on its Footy Classified show to jump ship.
To make the blow even more bitter, the paltry viewing tally was exactly the same number garnered by ABC children’s show The Adventures of Paddington (pictured).
“We haven’t seen poaching raids of this scale since the 1990s,” a senior network official told Daily Mail Australia.
“It’s super aggressive right now – there are fewer viewers, so the battle for attention has never been more intense and the networks are doing absolutely everything they can to try to get ahead.”
Seven insiders said Nine had predominantly been targeting its emerging star reporters in its newsrooms across the country as part of an unprecedented blitz.
The revelations come amid reports that Nine was becoming increasingly concerned about the “huge experience gap” between its own big-name news presenters and its next generation of stars.
Meanwhile, Sunrise’s Channel Nine rival Today, led by Karl Stefanovic (left) and Sarah Abo (right), more than doubled ratings in Melbourne, picking up 65,000 viewers on the same day.