It has been all change for News Breakfast in recent months. Lisa Millar departed after five years as co-host in August. In October, Tony Armstrong announced he was leaving after three years of early starts. The departure of Rowland, who joined the line-up in 2010, completes a clean sweep.
Also joining the team full-time in January is popular sports presenter Catherine Murphy. Roving reporter Charles Brice remains part of the line-up, as do Emma Rebellato (newsreader and Friday presenter) and Nate Byrne (weather).
From next January the lineup will not only be fresh, but considerably younger.
“Bridget and I, and also Tyson Shine [executive producer], are all turning 39 next year,” Glenday observed. “Emma and Catherine and Nate are all in their early 40s. So it does feel like a new era for News Breakfast, which I’m very excited about.
“I’m not saying it’s a pivot to younger audiences or anything like that,” he added. “But we know a lot of Millennials and Gen Xs wake up with News Breakfast, so it’s good to be reflecting that.”
The ABC will hope its new lineup resonates with viewers, young and old. News Breakfast consistently rates last among the three free-to-air morning news magazine shows, behind Nine’s Today and Seven’s Sunrise, the leader by some margin.
Loading
Last Monday, Sunrise averaged 405,000 viewers on linear and on demand, Today managed 298,000 and News Breakfast was watched by an average 236,000.
Ratings are important to Glenday, though he points out that there are other priorities for the show.
“I want as many people as possible to be watching it, but I also think it has a really important role in the ABC network for breaking stories, getting the biggest interviews, because there’s a repeater effect, in that what you see on News Breakfast you’ll also see throughout the day and online, and even on the news at night,” he said.
“One of the metrics of success is getting big gets and getting big interviews so that you can really drive that content and news elsewhere in the ABC. Its reach is broader than just what goes to air [on the show itself].”
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.