KEY POINTS:
Morning television host James Coleman has made a surprise exit from TV3's Sunrise amid questions about the future shape of the troubled show.
Coleman, who has co-presented the show with Carly Flynn since it first went to air in October 2007, announced he was leaving yesterday, effective immediately.
In a written statement, the former radio host said he felt it was "an appropriate time to pursue some exciting new opportunities that have arisen within MediaWorks, both in radio and television".
TV3 head of news Mark Jennings would not give details about Coleman's departure.
He said it was a "relatively recent development" but "not completely out of the blue".
TV reporter Ali Ikram will fill in until a new host is announced.
Industry insiders suggest Sunrise's days might be numbered unless it manages to revive flagging ratings in the breakfast slot.
Since launching on to our screens promising to "liven up mornings" the breakfast show has struggled to pull viewers from its rival, TV One's Breakfast.
Last month, media commentator Martin Gilman said ratings were "almost getting rigor mortis" at Sunrise - having hovered around the 20,000-30,000 mark for much of the show's existence.
Breakfast regularly draws in around 140,000 viewers a day.
Mr Jennings said the show was budgeted to carry on for another year. But he conceded he would like to see ratings improve.
TV3 announced in August it was "fine tuning" aspects of Sunrise.
The involvement of former C4 head, associate director of programming Andrew Szusterman, prompted speculation the show could move away from news to focus more on entertainment.
But yesterday Mr Jennings said he did not think Sunrise would get any lighter or softer in content.
TV3 announced it was adding a stand-alone business show to the early mornings. ASB Business will screen weekdays at 6.30am from October 6.
