Latest news with #NetworkTen
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The surprising show that was going to replace The Project before executives panicked and pushed out 10 News+ - and why the 'rushed' current affairs show is tipped to not last long
The Project replacement 10 News+ launched to a whimper last Monday, with a measly 291,000 Australians tuning in for the much-hyped news program. Network 10 announced The Project had been officially axed after 16 years last month, and, in a surprising one-eighty, replaced the peppy infotainment series with a traditional hard news bulletin. The Project launched in 2009 as an experimental attempt to recapture a national audience who were turning off 'serious' news en masse in favour of social media. Many were quick to question why Network Ten believed a serious news bulletin would retain and expand The Project's audience. Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal that behind closed doors, executives were wringing their hands over the same question. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Network 10 announced The Project had been officially axed after 16 years last month, and in a surprising one-eighty, replaced the peppy infotainment series with a traditional hard news bulletin. Pictured L - R: Sam Taunton, Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, and Georgie Tunny Top Ten executives were reportedly torn over which direction to take the primetime 6-7pm time slot, with some pushing for a stripped, five-nights-a-week version of The Cheap Seats instead. Those in favour of expanding the popular comedy panel show argued it would inject some much-needed humour and levity into the Ten line-up. But in the end, they went the other way, opting for a serious, newsier feel with 10 News+. However, the decision hasn't landed well with viewers or the crew. On Tuesday, 10 News+ shed another 10,000 viewers despite a massive available audience as a 'bomb cyclone' descended on the East Coast. The network swiftly rehired The Project's Georgie Tunny on Thursday to join new anchors Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace. 'I've always been a fan of news delivered differently and am excited to be staying with the 10 family. Can't wait to see where this new chapter leads!' Georgie said. 'They "screwed up" in a covert style and that probably wasn't the right foundation for what was needed to triumph in that time slot,' a Network Ten insider tells Daily Mail Australia. 'Everyone felt rushed,' the insider spills. Top Ten executives were reportedly torn over which direction to take the prime time 6-7pm time slot, with some pushing for a stripped, five-nights-a-week version of The Cheap Seats instead. Pictured: Cheap Seats co-host Melanie Bracewell 'It was clear the format wasn't ready but they needed something fast to replace and justify the budget cuts.' In June, The Project attracted between 238,000 and 357,000 viewers nationally. The news show, which has been in a ratings free-fall since Carrie Bickmore left her seat as host at the end of 2022, still drew a larger audience than 10 News+ in its launch week. This is in stark contrast to The Project's competitors – Seven and Nine News – which routinely attracted more than 2 million viewers to their 6pm bulletins. While 10 News+ is expected to limp through to the end of 2025, many believe it won't return in 2026. 'There's already talk that they'll pull the plug once the ratings come in,' our insider adds. One certainty is The Project isn't coming back. With high-priced contracts for hosts Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris and Hamish Macdonal d axed and no plans to resurrect more familiar faces, Network Ten is said to be scrambling for younger, fresher talent. 'It was clear the format wasn't ready but they needed something fast to replace and justify the budget cuts.' 'They should've stayed in their lane and gone lighter,' our source says. 'That's what Ten does best and that's what viewers actually want.' A second Ten insider didn't mince words when Inside Mail asked about the performance so far. 'Disaster. An EP who has never produced anything before. Hosts who have never hosted anything before,' they said. 'I watched it last night – it's genuinely terrible. Day one – stillborn. Day two – buried. Martin's masterpiece.' The 'Martin' mentioned at the end is Martin White, vice president of broadcast news at Paramount. The executive producer who copped a spray is Daniel Sutton, a veteran journalist, sure, but a first-time EP. When contacted for comment, a Ten spokesperson went to bat for Sutton, telling us: 'Daniel Sutton is a seasoned journalist and producer with 25 years' experience. Network 10 is proud to invest in its staff and promote talented executives.' They added of 10 News+ more generally: 'Ten is taking a long-term, multi-platform view of audience development. 'Building a loyal news audience takes time, and we are prepared for gradual growth as audiences discover and connect with our unique approach to news delivery across many platforms. 'Ten is fully committed to 10 News+. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We are investing in building a sustainable, quality multi-platform news service that will grow and evolve with our audience's needs over time.'
Sky News AU
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Aussies shocked by the surprise 'return' of The Project as current affairs program goes rogue on Instagram after being axed
Aussies are baffled over The Project continuing to post on Instagram despite the current affairs news program being axed. Network Ten earlier this month announced the show would come to an end without stating a reason after 16 years and 4,500 episodes. In a statement, a spokesperson said "all good things come to an end" and celebrated The Project for carving out a different way of telling news. In June, the final episode, which was extended to 90 minutes, aired with a special appearance from former hosts Lisa Wilkinson and Carrie Bickmore. However, afterwards, The Project's social media account remained active and appears to have gone completely off the rails. Just a day after the final episode, the show's self-proclaimed "social media hero" shared a post on Instagram mocking the bosses. "The bosses really should have changed the password from Password1," the post read. The mystery admin took to the caption to further poke fun at the bosses, saying, "Look who is in charge now." "So, one question: what should I do with these accounts?" After then posting a wholesome carousel of the show's final episode, the "social media hero" made another surprising return on Wednesday. This time, they made humour out of The Project's cancellation, leaving fans scratching their heads in the comments. "Still cancelled. Still curious," the post read, alongside a caption expressing sadness at having nobody to share "silly news" with. People in the comments said the show's sudden rogue posts meant the embattled program could continue to deliver content in some capacity. "So you're telling us there's a chance?" one fan wrote. "Please come back!" another person wrote. A third person called for fans to start a "petition" for the The Project's return, while others were hoping for at least its social media presence. The mystery social media guru, appearing to revel in fans' continued interest, was fuelled to share another questionable post on Thursday. As severe weather lashed NSW, the admin posted a video of a woman being knocked over by a cardboard box on a very windy street. "We have been off air for less than a week, and a woman has been knocked over by a fridge box?" the admin wrote in the caption. "You just can't make this stuff up." "The Project lives on, we are here for it!!" a fan wrote in the comments. "I'm all for The Project social media pages going rogue," another fan said. "Now you know you have to keep this page," one more person said. The Project's axing came as Ten faced mounting challenges, and the current affairs show's ratings dwindled due to criticism over its "woke" left-wing bias. The Project featured a rotating lineup of regular presenters, including Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Sam Taunton, and Georgie Tunny, from Sunday through Friday. The series' original panel consisted of Carrie Bickmore, Charlie Pickering and Dave Hughes, but its most well-known lineup was arguably Bickmore, Peter Helliar, Waleed Aly and Hamish McDonald. Bickmore and Helliar left the Melbourne-based show in 2022 amid reported budget cuts and declining viewership at the free-to-air broadcaster. The Project was replaced with another current affairs program called 10 News+. The network has poached journalists from other newsrooms to front the show.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Project's Instagram page goes rogue as 'bosses forget to change the password' after the show's axing
The Project's Instagram page has gone rogue following Channel Ten 's shock decision to axe the long-running news program. The program, which was pulled from the schedule after 16 years and more than 4,500 episodes, aired its final episode on Friday. And while The Project has officially ended, the show's Instagram page appears to still be very active. On Tuesday, a post poking fun at the Network Ten bosses was shared to social media. 'The bosses really should have changed the password from Password1,' it read. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'Well, well, well, look who is in charge now... It's me! The social media hero (that's what I call myself),' it was captioned. The following day, another post was shared to The Project's social media page: 'Still cancelled. Still curious.' 'I have nobody to share the silly news I see from around the world with,' the caption read. 'That, and the other things we should be discussing… Shall I just post the things that interest/make me laugh anyway?' A third post showed a woman getting knocked over by a huge box blowing in the wind during Sydney's recent storm. 'We have been off air for less than a week, and a woman has been knocked over by a fridge box? You just can't make this stuff up,' it read. The Project was officially axed after 16 years last week, and aired its final episode on June 27. It was replaced 10 News+ which failed to impress viewers following its debut on Monday night. The first episode included an investigation on drug smuggling Melbourne mum Debbie Voulgaris and a sit down chat with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Not everyone liked what they saw however, with many sharing their thoughts on X. Several compared 10 News+ to A Current Affair with one posting: 'This is like ACA. Going to peoples houses to talk & them avoiding the cameras.' 'You replaced The Project with a Temu ACA not seeing @theprojecttv is incredibly depressing. 10news+ sucks!' complained another viewer. Someone else said: 'This is proper @Channel7 style commercial JUNK. It's like watching a cross between Fox News and Anchorman. Why the silly 'news' voices!?' One more person tuning in at home asked: 'Anyone else bored so far?' while someone else said, 'please no more long investigation reports it's 6pm.' 'This is trash, so dry and bland. Time for the project 2.0 and a game show in a prime time slot up against Home and Away. Good luck,' someone wrote. 'Not even bothering with #10newsplus bring back #TheProjectTV' one more wrote with someone else saying, 'Is Denham Hitchcock AI generated or just stupid?'aid. 'Dribble. Won't last the year,' a viewer said with another adding, 'Felt like it was a Comedy Company parody from the 80s. The fist pump at the end? Yikes.' Not everyone was so negative with one fan writing: 'Loving @10NewsPlus - strong launch story. Is this the new Schapelle Corby story we all need to know about. 10 news should be very proud.'
News.com.au
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
MasterChef's Andy Allen recalls 4:30am call from Jock Zonfrillo's widow after his death: ‘In hysterics'
MasterChef Australia judge Andy Allen has recalled the heartbreaking phone call he received from Jock Zonfrillo's wife, alerting him of the beloved chef's death. Speaking on the A Life of Greatness with Sarah Grynberg podcast, Allen detailed the early morning call he got from Italy with Lauren Zonfrillo on the other end delivering the sad news. In the distressing long-distance call from two years ago, Lauren also asked Allen for a favour to bide her some time to grieve privately before she told Network Ten about her husband's death – and Allen, who was also Jock's best friend, did all he could to support her. 'I get a call at about 4.30 in the morning from Lauren in hysterics and telling me what had happened, that Jock had passed away,' Allen shared on the podcast episode, which aired Tuesday. 'I was then like, 'What do you need?' And she was like, 'Well, he's got a lot of press to do this morning.' And I had a bit of press to do as well. I was like, 'OK, I'll go do his press' because she didn't want to go to Ten … she needed to get a plan together.' Reflecting on what transpired, Allen says he doesn't know how he soldiered on in the promotional trail, which fell on the eve of the show's season premiere in April 2023. 'That was the hardest thing,' Allen recalled. 'Crazy how it all works because I remember I was living in Carlton at the time and there are so many ways to get to Carlton from here. It was actually here in this [Melbourne] building that I had to come to do press.' 'And of all ways, the driver took me past the hotel where Jock had passed away. Talk about just being rattled again. I was trying so hard just to kind of be in the zone and get done what I needed to do.' Allen said no one else knew of Jock's passing at the time and he continued to do press interviews pretending that everything was OK, despite Jock being found unresponsive in Zagame's House hotel on Lygon Street. His cause of death has never been publicly disclosed. 'Obviously, I hadn't told anyone,' Allen remembered. 'That was like, step one: get out – done. Then start the grieving process. For me the grieving process has been such a journey.' Allen said in the six months after Jock's death, he tried to be there for other people, but it only put off his need to work through his own grief. 'I always wanted to be there for Loz and the family and do whatever I needed to do. But I think that prolonged my grieving process,' he said. 'I remember being in Europe with my wife and there was like three things that happened in a very short space of time. [The death,] it was Jock's birthday and I think we won another Logie or something. That were three really big things that happened and I just lost it. I just broke down.' The MasterChef judge and food critic says he wasn't OK and realised he was neglecting himself and his marriage, while looking out for everyone else. So he took time to really work on himself, with therapy helping significantly. 'I still miss Jock every day, but I've learnt [there's] so much more to celebrate,' he said on the podcast. 'Sure, there's days where I have really bad days. But life is short, and [Jock] had a life and was so amazing at that life, and I want to celebrate that.'
Sky News AU
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Former hosts Lisa Wilkinson and Carrie Bickmore appear on Network Ten's The Project as final episode airs after 16 years
Former The Project hosts Lisa Wilkinson and Carrie Bickmore made a special appearance for the final episode of the current affairs news program. After 16 years and more than 4,500 episodes, Network Ten announced earlier this month that the nightly show would come to an end without stating a reason. In a statement, a spokesperson said "all good things come to an end" and celebrated The Project for carving out a different way of telling news in the media landscape. On Friday, the final episode, extended to 90 minutes, went to air. Regular hosts Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Sam Taunton and Georgie Tunny, welcomed viewers at home and the in-studio audience with a heavy heart. The show flashed back all the way to 2009 when it first arrived on television screens known at the time as The 7PM Project, before a name change two years later. Highlights of the best moments throughout the years were played, including interviews with A-list celebrities and funny incidents on the panel between the hosts. Later, Wilkinson made a surprise appearance. Speaking in a short recorded video, the TV star who hosted the show between 2018 and 2022, said it had been a "privilege" to be part of The Project family. "In my experience, you will never get a more professional and passionate bunch of people, both in front of and behind the cameras," the journalist said. She recalled one particular "great memory" when Aly interviewed former prime minister Scott Morrison following the Christchurch shooting massacre in 2019. Wilkinson also praised the work of former colleague Hamish MacDonald and Bickmore for breaking news and raising millions for brain cancer, respectively. "And Tommy (Little), Pete (Helliar), thank you so much for every time things got a little heavy there at the desk. Taking the piss! You constantly made us laugh at ourselves and the world. Too often, we needed it! And still do," she continued. "This journalism and these moments are what The Project at its best specialised in, and I'm really sad that a show as important and loved as The Project has been over the years won't be on any screens any more. I mean, 11 Logies and a Walkley, that ain't nothing." Tears flowed and laughter was shared throughout the final show. Celebrities including Dannii Minogue, Jessica Mauboy, Andy Lee, Robert Irwin, Shane Jacobson, and singer Callum Scott also left touching messages for the show. Bickmore stopped by in person during the final 30 minutes, saying she had the "worst memory" but one highlight was spending time with Oprah when she was in Australia. "She took me backstage and spent a couple of minutes for me and it was tough time in my life and she was telling me that she was praying for me," she said. Bickmore then encouraged viewers to buy a beanie to support Carrie's Beanies 4 Brain Cancer, after her late husband Greg Lange died following a 10-year battle. The final episode wrapped up with long-time host Aly reading out a monologue describing the change The Project had on Australian current affairs and news. "Sixteen years ago, some outstandingly creative people began an audacious TV experiment. Could you straddle the world of news, popular culture and comedy in a single show, a single segment, a single moment?" he asked. "I think that this show reflected the best of this country. It was irreverent and knew when things were serious but always refused to take itself that way. It always gave its best but never presumed to think that it was doing everything right. For God's sake - the show's name is The Project - it's never finished and it reflected our lives. "You love, you cry. You get things wrong. You laugh, and you do all of these things all at once - not in isolation, because that's life. Often we are laughing despite the tragedy around us. It's release and escape and especially, it's connection." Aly went on to thank staff and viewers at home for "letting us into your hearts". "You're the reason the show existed and the reason that this moment is so hard. TV is a meet, and this was... This was the most extraordinary gathering," he said. "...But this impossible show and the people who gathered around it is unlike anything that came before it, and nothing like it will exist again. This show brought people together with sometimes very little in common and made them long-term friends." The Project will be replaced with another current affairs and news program called 10 News+ and has poached journalists from other newsrooms to front the show.
