Studio 10: Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Natarsha Belling, Tim Bailey axed from network
Kerri-Anne Kennerley says she is “back on the lazy susan of television”, talking for the first time since she and a handful of high profile presenters were axed from Channel 10. FULL DETAILS
Confidential
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Kerri-Anne Kennerley says she is “back on the lazy susan of television”, talking for the first time since she and a handful of high profile presenters were axed from Channel 10.
“It is very tough for a lot of people, but I’ve always worked on a personal level the Charles Darwin theory that says to survive you don’t have to be the most intelligent, you don’t have to be the strongest, but you have to be to survive, the most adaptable. My life theory is that,” Kerri-Anne said.
Wearing a ringmaster style cream jacket with gold buttons, she continued: “The reason I am wearing this outfit today is because if you are being run out of town, get in front of the parade or get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade.”
“You just have to suck it up and move on.”
Colleague Sarah Harris earlier addressed the sackings saying: “In a few weeks time, Studio 10, our little show, will look very different to what it does now.”
“It was pretty hard news to cop yesterday, we are losing colleagues, we are losing mates, we are losing family members essentially.’
Industry murmurs suggest major changes to the format of the show in 2021 with Harris to continue as host and Angela Bishop to remain on the panel.
“There is a lot of shock,” said one executive at the network. “It is pure cost cutting.”
Elsewhere, some 20 jobs are understood to have been cut with veteran weatherman Tim Bailey also leaving.
Ten head of news Ross Dagan is understood to have communicated the news to staff.
“Network 10 today informed staff about a restructuring of its News and Operations department,” a Ten spokeswoman said. “As part of the restructuring, the presentation of the weekday 5.00pm to 6.30pm 10 News First bulletins will be centralised in Sydney and Melbourne.
“Presentation of the weekday Sydney, Brisbane and Perth 5.00pm to 6.30pm news bulletins will take place in Sydney. Network 10 will also move to a national weekday weather model. A new national meteorologist will be announced soon.”
Interstate, on air talent Monika Kos in Perth and Mike Larkin in Melbourne have been made redundant.
The spokeswoman said the national weekend bulletins and The Project would not be affected.
“As a result of the restructuring, some on-air presenters, journalists and operations staff will leave Network 10,” a statement read. “The network would like to thank those people for their dedication and hard work.”
Ten boss Beverley McGarvey added: “These decisions are not being made lightly, however, they are essential to future-proofing our business.”
Logie Award winner Kennerley, 66, joined Studio 10 in 2018 while Belling has been with the network for 23 years and Bailey 28.
Harris and Hildebrand are the only remaining original cast members of Studio 10.
Dagan said the decision to make the changes had been a difficult one.
“I want to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to our friends and colleagues who will leave the network,” he said. “It is in no way a reflection of their talent, contribution or passion. They are exceptionally gifted people. We are incredibly proud of them and their work. There is no doubt they will be missed. These painful changes reflect the state of the media industry in recent years and the need for all media companies to achieve new efficiencies.”
Hildebrand meanwhile is in contract negotiations with the network.
Studio 10 has long been under scrutiny for its low ratings. In June, Confidential reported the show attracted just 66,000 viewers across the five city metro markets compared to The Morning Show at 233,000 and Nine’s Today Extra at 159,000.
At the time, one source noted: “The decline of Studio 10 has been extraordinary to watch. The show went from fan-favourite and media darling to a show no-one seems to care about any more. You have to feel sorry for the original hosts who have watched it go downhill over the past few years after gaining so much ground. There’s a lot of chatter within the industry on how it is managing to stay afloat with the ratings as bad as they are. There’s no way advertorials can be getting a good return on their investment.”
The show, which airs from 8am to 12pm, began in 2013 with the ever changing panel including over the years Ita Buttrose, Denise Drysdale, Narelda Jacobs, Susie Elelman and Denise Scott.
This is not the first time this year the network has had to make cost cuts after posting a $226m loss for 2019 and flagging further losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.. In May it closed down its digital platform 10Daily, making many staff redundant while in March it merged its sales team with that of ViacomCBS, who bought the network in 2017 after it went into voluntary administration.