Tag: breakfast television

How crunchy are the Herald NOW numbers?

Let me say at the outset: I like NZME’s video breakfast show Herald Now.

It has the hallmarks of a serious news programme designed to inform me at the start of the day, and the relaxed manner of its host Ryan Bridge belies his skill in asking questions that put interviewees on the spot.

It has the ability to attract newsmakers from the Prime Minister and former judges to sports stars and social workers in Gaza. Its rotating list of panellists spans a useful social spectrum.

Ryan Bridge plays a key role in the show’s success but, even when he is not there, the format retains its appeal. Last week, seasoned television journalist Garth Bray (now with NZME’s BusinessDesk) was a quality stand-in who maintained the same pace and inquisitive style.

So, I was not surprised when NZME crowed that the show has attracted 2.4 million views in July. Well, that was the number from one survey source but it could include double-ups  where the same people watched on different platforms. By another measure, the programme has a million ‘unique viewers’ a month.

Herald Now screens on the Herald’s digital platforms and on YouTube. I watch it through the latter on the tv set in our lounge. And that is what roused my curiosity over the audience statistic proudly announced by NZME. When I logged onto the programme on YouTube one day last week it told me there were 407 other viewers. On another day, the number was about 1400. That suggests that the vast majority view it on the Herald’s platforms.

Fair enough, but what does either Herald Now audience survey number actually tell us? Continue reading “How crunchy are the Herald NOW numbers?” →

Must we start the day with a fit of the giggles?

I thought the introduction of new faces to the breakfast television line-ups might change the tone of the programmes on TVNZ and Three. And, briefly, it did.

When Daniel Faitaua returned to Breakfast on TVNZ1 and Lloyd Burr appeared on the rival AM Show, both men had a certain seriousness about them. They were journalists doing news.

It did not last long. Before their first weeks were out, they had become part of their respective jolly, jokey teams.

I am reminded of mixed flats, with the inhabitants sitting around with their morning coffee (sponsor’s name redacted), making light of the world before they have to venture out into it for the day. It is banter-ridden, full of laughter at each other’s witticisms and antics, punctuated by moments of seriousness when the news demands it.

Everyone is expected to play along with the light-hearted interactions. That includes the news readers – Nicky Styris on AM and Chris Chang on Breakfast – which I think is a mistake. Whatever they do with the rest of the three-hour shows, they should keep the news straight. That means their newsreaders displaying a degree of separation and certain amount of gravitas. Gravitas cannot be switched on at the top of the hour then switched off for 20 minutes or so before the next bulletin. It doesn’t work like that.

It takes something like events at Waitangi to tone down the levity, as we saw in yesterday’s offerings.

Continue reading “Must we start the day with a fit of the giggles?” →

New snap and crackle in breakfast radio

Santa has already sent my Christmas present, and I confess to taking a sneak peep. I can’t wait to fully unwrap the 2022 Breakfast Battle Royal.

Before we have vacuumed the sand out of the car and packed away the folding chairs, New Zealand broadcasters will be hard at work finessing the line-ups they offer in the most hotly contested and crowded part of the market.

It is the space where not only do the two broadcast television networks fight each other for audience but must also compete with radio stations that are determined to hook morning listeners before they start their commute to work. And, somewhere in that mix, newspaper publishers and news sites also are vying for eyeballs. Continue reading “New snap and crackle in breakfast radio” →