Seven ‘behaving like Donald Trump’ over breakfast TV lawsuit says Today boss
The executive producer of Nine’s breakfast show Today has sent an email to staff accusing Seven of “acting like a narky kid” after it launched legal action over Nine’s claims Today is the ‘number one breakfast show in Australia’.
Calvert: ‘Seven behaving like narky kids’
In the email, obtained by Mumbrella, Mark Calvert praised Nine’s staff for having “the number one breakfast show, based on the industry standard of survey weeks won, in the five big metro markets”.
Seven Network claims its Sunrise show, which has beaten Today on the same metric for the last 12 years, has a higher combined capital city and regional audience, and says the average audience number is too close to call.
Seven disputes Nine’s claims Today is number one in Australia
In the Calvert wrote:
“You’ve all seen the reports about our so-called rivals disputing our position. Tomorrow, they will spend money, and take up court time, arguing that we are “not number 1.”
“They are doing this because you have them rattled. They’re behaving like the narky kid who gets beaten in a kick-about on the oval… so he takes his ball home. They’re Donald Trump, only accepting the result if he wins. They’re bad losers. They’ve forgotten that breakfast television is fun.
“Be in no doubt, by the key measure, in the 5 cap cities, we are undeniably, indisputably, NUMBER ONE.”
He added “we’ll continue to celebrate, because as a wise man once said: ‘Winners have parties. Losers hire barristers,'” a reference to former Nine executive Sam Chisholm’s famous line losers have meetings, winners have parties.
It is thought Nine will seek to show that Seven has used the number of weeks won on the five city metro metric to claim it has won ratings battles before.
Calvert’s email to staff in full:
Dear team
After an incredibly busy few days, I wanted to send you a quick note, to thank each and every one of you.
Your 24/7 service to our incredible viewers is awesome to witness.
You produce the greatest breakfast show on TV. No doubt.
And now you have the number one breakfast show, based on the industry standard of survey weeks won, in the five big metro markets.
We are also tracking ahead of the other lot on the daily average across those five cap cities.
You’ve all seen the reports about our so-called rivals disputing our position. Tomorrow, they will spend money, and take up court time, arguing that we are “not number 1.”
They are doing this because you have them rattled. They’re behaving like the narky kid who gets beaten in a kick-about on the oval… so he takes his ball home. They’re Donald Trump, only accepting the result if he wins. They’re bad losers. They’ve forgotten that breakfast television is fun.
Be in no doubt, by the key measure, in the 5 cap cities, we are undeniably, indisputably, NUMBER ONE.
Be proud of your achievement. I’m certainly proud to be a part of this great team.
We’ll continue to work tirelessly for our viewers.
And we’ll continue to celebrate, because as a wise man once said: “Winners have parties. Losers hire barristers.”
We know our numbers.
They all add up to one simple truth…
YOU ARE THE BEST BREAKFAST TEAM IN AUSTRALIA.
Here’s to you!
Channel Seven’s management need to take a long hard look at themselves. The courts should not have to arbitrate over who won a popularity contest. It’s ridiculous. The vast majority of viewers watch because they like the personalities hosting the show, not because a particular show is number 1 or not. And it will not have a major impact on revenues either, especially if the total audience figures are so close. Grow up Seven. I hope other shareholders hold a similar opinion about this at the next AGM.
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