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Aww, thanks for watching, Karl & Lisa?

It's a subtle change in the handover of Today to Today Extra, as Karl & Lisa vanish without a trace.

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Karl! Lisa! Not so much as a ‘Thanks for watching?’

Since Today Extra (formerly known as Mornings) started last week a subtle change has taken place where the handover from Karl Stefanovic & Lisa Wilkinson to Sonia Kruger & David Campbell isn’t a handover at all.

There’s no farewell and no thank you to viewers, as part of the new strategy to align the morning show closer to the breakfast show.

In fact the Today hosts even signpost segments that they won’t even be there for….

“Coming up in our next hour is the movie which has been nominated for a massive 12 Academy Awards. We chat to the star of the show Leonardo di Caprio,” Stefanovic told viewers yesterday.

“Plus he’s never lost for words so why was comedian Julian Clary left red-faced after meeting the Queen? He’s going to join us Live to reveal all,” said Wilkinson.

Both interviews fell under Today Extra‘s banner (although Richard Wilkins did remain for a Grammys chat).

Similarly news presenter Sylvia Jeffreys presents the first news bulletin on Today Extra to help make the transition more seamless, but also gives no farewell, magically replaced by Davina Smith for subsequent bulletins.

The only clear indication Today is ending is the sponsor acknowledgments running at the end of an ad break.

Sure it may be old fashioned to thank viewers for watching, or to sign off with a farewell, but breakfast TV has always thrived on its loose, down-to-earth relationship with its audience too. Let’s hope the push for ratings doesn’t impact further on that intimacy.

Nine declined to comment on the changes.

16 Responses

  1. Underneath the new tile is essentially the same show (Mornings) – do they really think that the name was the reason people aren’t sticking around? Or that they could trick people into thinking that it was the same show?

    I would have thought giving the show it’s own identity made more sense than literally making it a second rate version of Today. And as David mentioned, it’s clunky as hell when you try to integrate them together.

        1. Yeah, must have. But was this forced upon a guest (s) without their knowledge? And did they continue on even after the guest was clearly unhappy with it?

          1. Sam Armytage interview on Mamma Mia was unclear about whether it had been discussed (make of that what you will). If it has been agreed to I’m sure we would be hearing about it.

  2. There have been quite a few subtle changes to the Today format this year and I bet some don’t last long. For example, they seem to be going for extreme close-ups and framing the presenters more closely, which feels a bit uncomfortable to me.

  3. “In fact the … hosts even signpost segments that they won’t even be there for….”

    This happens on 7 News in Adelaide where the newsreaders flag stories which appear on Today Tonight.

  4. Nine us a news based channel lets fa e it. Let’s look at their line up, GMA, 5am news, Today then Extra. Ellen, Extra, Nine News Now. 4pm News, 6pm News and ACA. Got more news than ABC 24.

  5. while it is understandable what nine is “trying” to do here….honestly…its rude not to say a simple thank you for watching and stay tune for more today.

      1. Yeah, they don’t need to make a big deal of it. Just a 2-3 minute segment where Karl, Lisa, David & Sonia are together to ‘sign off’ and maybe a 2-3 second title with the Today Extra logo

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