Wake Up (TV program)

Wake Up was an Australian breakfast television program produced by Network Ten. The show was hosted by Natarsha Belling and James Mathison. It aired weekday mornings from 6.30am to 8.30am, before Ten's morning talk show Studio 10.[3][4][5] Wake Up, launched on 4 November 2013, was presented from Queenscliff Surf Club at Manly Beach in Sydney, with Nuala Hafner presenting national news updates from a glass studio at Federation Square in Melbourne.[6] Due to poor ratings, the show was cancelled just six months after its debut, on 21 May 2014, with the last episode airing 23 May 2014.[1][7]

Wake Up
GenreBreakfast television[1]
Created byAdam Boland[2]
Presented by
Opening theme"Gonna Make It" by Vydamo
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes147
Production
Executive producerSteve Wood[2]
Production locations
Running time120 minutes[3]
Release
Original networkNetwork Ten
Original release4 November 2013 (2013-11-04) –
23 May 2014 (2014-05-23)
Related

Presenters
PresenterRoleTenure
James MathisonCo-host2013–2014
Natarsha BellingCo-host2013–2014
Nuala HafnerNews2013–2014

Reporters and contributors
PresenterRole
Maude GarrettLos Angeles correspondent
Michele MahoneEntertainment correspondent
Sam MacReporter
James KerleyOnline reporter
Jo LamblePsychologist
Monica AttardForeign affairs analyst
Andrew RochfordHealth reporter
Fr. Bob Maguire"The World According to Fr. Bob" segment

Natasha Exelby was originally a co-host alongside Belling and Mathison, but was dropped from the show less than three weeks after its launch due to a lack of chemistry.[8] Creator Adam Boland stated that he saw "genuine spark during show rehearsals" but that it did not translate on air.[9]

Controversy

On 14 May 2014, the morning after the announcement of the 2014 Australian federal budget, Wake Up invited Prime Minister Tony Abbott to take part in an on-air forum involving members of the public. One of the participants, 85-year-old Brisbane pensioner Vilma Ward, began to ambush Abbott live on air, telling him "I've never heard such rubbish in all my life" referring to his plan to raise the pension age. Ward also called Abbott a "comedian". It later emerged that Ward had strong links with the Australian Labor Party dating back to the 1960s and had appeared in an election campaign brochure.[10] Network Ten admitted they were not aware of Ward's links prior to the segment.[11]

Reception

Following its first show, Wake Up was considered in some quarters as a vast improvement over its predecessor, Breakfast.

Wake Up's first episode averaged 52,000 viewers nationally.[4] A week after the first episode, the show had lost around half of its audience share, even rating lower than Breakfast (Wake Up's predecessor, which had been cancelled the year before due to low ratings).[12]

References
  1. "Channel Ten breakfast show Wake Up bids final farewell to viewers". news.com.au. 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. Willis, Charlotte (23 January 2014). "Adam Boland's shock resignation from Channel 10 as Executive Producer of Wake Up". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. Bodey, Michael (16 October 2013). "Ten viewers wake up with new format". The Australian. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  4. Knox, David (5 November 2013). "Long haul for Wake Up, Studio 10 as first ratings emphasise uphill battle". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  5. Harris, Amy (17 May 2014). "Channel Ten set to finally scrap ratings disaster Wake Up. Will TV queen Kerri-Anne Kennerley be returning to our screens?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  6. Knox, David (18 July 2013). "TEN to Wake Up with "Tash, Tarsh & Matho"". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  7. Lallo, Michael (21 May 2014). "Network Ten axes 150 jobs, Wake Up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  8. Levy, Megan; Heffernan, Madeleine (20 November 2013). "Natasha Exelby leaves Ten breakfast show Wake Up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  9. "Natasha Exelby dumped from Wake Up". mUmBRELLA. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  10. Killoran, Matthew (14 May 2014). "Pensioner who attacked Tony Abbott on Wake Up program over Budget has a Labor past". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  11. Knox, David (15 May 2014). "TEN admits Wake Up "should have known" about Vilma's Labor links". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  12. Kruger, Colin (14 November 2013). "Ten cost cutting looks like a silver lining". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
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