It’s Ellen and Oprah all over again!

It’s Ellen and Oprah all over again!

The NSW Government has sealed the deal with America’s biggest morning show for a trip down under.

NSW Premier Mike Baird has today announced the state government will be bringing the top rated show, NBC’s TODAY, to Aussie shores for a special live broadcast from Sydney.

Going live on Monday May 4 2015, Baird says the win will do great things for Australia’s global reputation.

“The US is a priority market for the NSW Government and we are delighted to welcome one of the world’s most popular television programs to Sydney,” Baird said.

“This broadcast will beam images of Sydney into the homes of the show’s 5.6 million American fans and show up in the feeds of more than 4 million TODAY Facebook followers.”

“Australian-born TODAY anchor Savannah Guthrie will travel to Sydney to host the live broadcast from 9pm to 11pm at an iconic Sydney location.

“The NSW Government is committed to attracting more visitors to the state to achieve our goal of doubling overnight visitor expenditure by 2020.

More than 323,000 visitors made the trek from North America to NSW in the year ending September 2014, staying 4.3 million nights, and pumping $535 million into the local economy.

“This is a golden opportunity to showcase NSW to the lucrative US audience and we’ll work with TODAY’s producers to promote the state as a must-see tourism destination,” Baird added.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said the broadcast deal was secured by the NSW Government’s major events and tourism agency Destination NSW in partnership with Qantas.

“A similar partnership with Ellen De Generes in 2013 resulted in a 22 per cent increase in inbound ticket sales from the USA to Sydney compared with normal levels,” Ayres said.

“We are looking to maximise the potential of this opportunity. Destination NSW will work with Qantas to offer travel packages to further promote the state to US audiences.”

Qantas Group’s CEO Alan Joyce also commented on the win, saying the home-grown carrier is a big supporter of Aussie tourism.

“The US is a key target market for our local tourism operators and Qantas is the number one choice for people travelling across the Pacific, so we’re excited to be working with Destination NSW to market Sydney to such a big audience,” he said.

Latest News