Breakfast war far from over

Paul Henry was fired for racial insensitivity. Photo / Supplied

Ten months after the demise of Sunrise, MediaWorks boss Jason Paris has raised the prospect of a new dawn for TV3's morning news show.

Paris wants to go a second round with TVNZ's Breakfast, despite Sunrise being knocked out of the hotly contested slot last April.

Paris said morning television was one of the biggest areas of viewer growth.

"We are always looking for new opportunities for the business, and morning TV is just another consideration. We are continuously assessing new off-peak and peak content."

The Oliver Driver and Carly Flynn-fronted Sunrise was canned last year, with 30-second adverting slots reportedly being sold for as little as $150.

Media commentators said Breakfast could be perceived as being vulnerable since Paul Henry's departure, but TV3 would need to recruit at least one "name" to give the show a publicity boost.

University of Auckland media politics lecturer Joe Atkinson said: "Paul Henry, for all his faults, was a person who attracted an audience - some because they hated him, but some loved him."

He said TV3 could try an actor/comedian in the mould of Driver - such as Oscar Kightley - to liven up the show.

A potential stumbling block could be TV3's ability to attract a new sponsor.

Michael Carney, from marketingweek.co.nz, said it would take several years for a new incarnation of Sunrise to make inroads into Breakfast's market dominance.

He said the show would have to break news stories and touch on the contentious issues of the day.

Sunrise's launch in late-2007 opened up a new front in the war between TV One and MediaWorks' news shows.

But it was thumped in the ratings and unable to compete with the deeper pockets of TVNZ.

Breakfast presenters Petra Bagust and Corin Dann have enjoyed early ratings success since taking over from Henry and Pippa Wetzell.

They have regularly attracted more than 150,000 viewers.