Former Sunrise host David Koch has taken aim at the TV Week Logies after it failed to nominate either host of the Channel Seven morning breakfast show despite dominating the ratings.
Logies Snub Sparks Outrage
The nominations for the 66th annual Logie awards were announced on Monday, with Channel Seven stars such as Bruce McAvaney, Larry Emdur, Michael Usher and Stephen Peacocke up for contention. But among the many who missed out on nominations were Koch’s former Sunrise co-host Nat Barr and his successor Matt Shirvington for Most Popular News or Public Affairs Presenter.
“So let me get this straight ... nominees for this year’s Logies contains both Today Show hosts but neither Sunrise hosts,” Koch said in a post to social media. He then pointed out that Sunrise has beaten their main competitor in viewership “every single day this year” while increasing its lead on Today.
Ratings Evidence
“Sunrise is averaging 424,000 viewers daily (up 4 per cent year on year) while Today is averaging 308,000 (down 3 per cent year on year),” he said. “This has been going on for years. If you ever complain you’re seen as a bad sport. But now I’m out of it I can say ... honestly WTF?”
Sunrise also failed to score a nomination in the publicly voted Best Current Affairs Program category, which also drew Koch’s ire. Taking to Instagram Stories, Koch asked if the Logies had “become a participation award” and said TV WEEK was “really taking the p***” by failing to include Sunrise in the category.
Reaction from Sunrise Team
Sunrise reporter Katie Brown said she was “shook” by the decision, adding the snub was “actually ridiculous”. While neither Barr nor Shirvington are up for Logies this year, a host of Channel Seven talent did receive nods, including Bruce McAvaney, who was honoured by having the award for most popular sports presenter named after him.
Other Channel Seven Nominations
McAvaney, a Logie Awards Hall of Fame recipient, has even been nominated in his namesake category. Beloved TV host Larry Emdur is nominated for the Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter for Channel Seven hit The Chase Australia. Highly acclaimed journalist Michael Usher has received his second nomination for the Ray Martin Award for Most Popular News or Public Affairs Presenter, a category introduced last year.
In the Best News Coverage or Public Affairs Report category, the 7NEWS team and Sunrise have been nominated for their coverage of the Bondi terror attack. The 7NEWS team has also been recognised for its coverage of the Iran War.
