Hilary and Jack join TV ONE’s Breakfast

Hilary and Jack join TV ONE’s Breakfast

TVNZ has today announced changes to its Breakfast line-up with confirmation that Hilary Barry and Jack Tame will be joining the programme next month.

John Gillespie, TVNZ’s Head of News and Current Affairs says. “It’s true – we’re making some changes to Breakfast. Hilary Barry and Jack Tame will be the new presenters. They will be joined on the show by Daniel Faitaua as news presenter and Sam Wallace as weather presenter.

“Hilary, Jack, Daniel and Sam have an extraordinary mix of broadcasting experience and journalistic credibility and will start together on September 19th.

“Of course, the changes we’re making mean saying goodbye to some of the current team, and I want to thank them for their contribution to the show. There’s been a lot of attention focussed on Breakfast over recent weeks and throughout it all they have been consummate professionals.”

Rawdon Christie’s last day with TVNZ will be September 9th.

“I want to thank Rawdon who has been presenting Breakfast for the last five years and has been with us for a decade before that,” says Gillespie.

Rawdon Christie says: “I’ve had the best job in television, working with the most dedicated team I have ever been a part of. Since I started we’ve put to air 3000 hours of live television, covering every conceivable issue from terror attacks and natural disasters to national elections and world cup wins.

“Now is a good time for me to take a break and assess the new commercial opportunities in the fast-evolving media landscape.” His full statement runs below.

Presenter Nadine Chalmers-Ross will also be leaving TVNZ, says Gillespie.

“I want to thank Nadine who has been filling in on Breakfast for the past year since Ali Pugh has been on maternity leave. Nadine has done a great job, remaining a true professional through recent media speculation. TVNZ had hoped to retain Nadine in another role but she has decided to explore other opportunities. Nadine’s a dedicated and talented journalist, and we wish her all the very best for the future.”

Chalmers-Ross, who finishes up on September 16th, says: “In almost eight years at TVNZ, I’ve been lucky enough to have a crack at hosting everything from AMP Business to ONE News, Seven Sharp and of course Breakfast. More importantly, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the best camera ops, producers, studio crews and journalists in the business. I’m now excited about the opportunities on the horizon – and the prospect of turning off my 3am alarm.”

Ali Pugh and Peter Williams will remain with the ONE News team. Says Gillespie: “Ali will be reporting from her home town in Christchurch from October. And Peter will continue as a ONE News presenter, which includes weekend news presenting, and other projects.

“There’s always a high degree of public interest in our news programmes and that means a lot to all of us in the ONE News team. We’re always going to talk with our people first – they have to be the priority before we share our plans more widely. There’s been lots of conjecture about what we’re doing and when we’re doing it. We’ve chosen not to comment until today, and now you know the facts about what we are doing and when,” he says.

Breakfast remains New Zealand’s most watched morning news programme with an average audience of 107,800 (AP5+). It is also number one in the 25-54 commercial demographic valued by advertisers, according to 2016 Nielsen ratings released today.

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2016 Ratings
Source: Nielsen TAM, Consolidated except wc. 9 Aug
Breakfast 5+ (000s)
February: 107.6
March: 113.9
April: 117.8
May: 104.2
June: 105.8
July: 101.3
August: 101.5
2016 average audience: 107.8

Paul Henry 5+ (000s)
February: 56.5
March: 58.7
April: 70.3
May: 72.9
June: 72.5
July: 55.6
August: 60.4
2016 average audience: 64.1

Breakfast 25-54 (000s)
February: 41.2
March: 43.5
April: 45.5
May: 43.0
June: 41.7
July: 38.9
August: 35.1
2016 average audience: 41.7

Paul Henry 25-54 (000s)
February: 27.2
March: 28.8
April: 34.3
May: 36.1
June: 35.4
July: 26.6
August: 30.4
2016 average audience: 31.4

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Rawdon Christie's statement in full:
"I’ve had the best job in television, working with the most dedicated team I have ever been a part of. Since I started we’ve put to air 3000 hours of live television, covering every conceivable issue from terror attacks and natural disasters to national elections and world cup wins.

"Beyond Breakfast, my highlights for TVNZ have included stints presenting ONE News at 6, the political show Agenda and Dragon’s Den. I have been privileged to interview some of New Zealand’s greatest and to anchor TVNZ’s coverage of both of Christchurch’s major earthquakes.

"I am fortunate to have had these opportunities and so many more, but television is an evolutionary industry and I understand the need for change.

"Now is a good time for me to take a break and assess the new commercial opportunities in the fast-evolving media landscape”.

ENDS

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