Ten’s ‘woke ideology’ could cost it millions, must learn from The Project axing

TV news executives say that Ten’s new current affairs show risks being ‘a multimillion-dollar disaster’ unless it immediately differentiates itself from the ‘woke ideology’ that sank The Project.

Former Seven reporters Amelia Brace and Denham Hitchcock will be the face of Ten’s 10 News+.

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Television news executives say that Ten’s new current affairs show risks being “a multimillion-dollar disaster” unless it immediately differentiates itself from the “woke ideology” that sank The Project after it spent years “giving Middle Australia the middle finger”.

There's currently no official word from Network 10 as to the fate of the show or it's biggest stars such as Waleed Aly. Picture: Channel 10

Ten announced it was launching the show, to be hosted by recently recruited Seven reporters Amelia Brace and Denham Hitchcock, and simply called 10 News+ to much fanfare last week as it looks to target the more mature audiences still watching free-to-air television.

The network has invested millions in developing the program and desperately needs it to hold up its new weeknight prime-time schedule after canning The Project from the end of next week.

However, former Ten executive producer Rob McKnight fears the show has been given an almost impossible task following revelations it would air half an hour earlier than The Project and compete in the fiercely contested 6pm timeslot.

The move will see the new show come straight off the back of the channel’s hour-long local news offerings at 5pm and go head-to-head against its rival’s big-budget news bulletins.

“This is going to be a multibillion-dollar disaster for 10,” Mr McKnight, who ran the channel’s morning chat show Studio 10 for more than four years, told The Australian.

“Not only have they failed to create a unique brand with this show, but they’ve worked on the assumption that viewers of 10 News at 5pm will continue watching news on Ten.

“Every bit of research and ratings I’ve seen over 30 years in the industry shows news viewers will watch Ten at 5pm and then flick over to Nine and Seven at 6pm.

“More news on Ten won’t hold those viewers as they’ve seen what Ten has to offer, they want to see what else is happening … and 10 News+ just sounds like more of the same.

“They would have been better putting the new show on at 6.30pm as at least it would have a chance of succeeding. Right now it is set to go up against the two biggest shows on television – Nine News and Seven News.”

Former Ten executive producer Rob McKnight and Adam Boland who worked together on morning shows. Picture: Sam Mooy

Mr McKnight warned that if the show was to have any chance of succeeding, it had to set itself apart from the “woke sermonising” that “alienated viewers” and sank its predecessor, The Project.

“If you ever want proof of the term ‘go woke, go broke’ just look at what happened to The Project,” he said. “There is no other show on television that became as woke as The Project.

“It changed from a take on the day’s news with a comedy bent to thinking it had to teach us how to think about each subject; and became far too left when Australians are more centrist.

“You could argue it took that political leaning to reach younger viewers, but younger viewers aren’t watching free-to-air TV, so it was a flawed strategy.”

Veteran news executive Jason Morrison, who led Seven’s Sydney newsroom for eight years until 2023, admitted he was surprised to see Ten pit its untested current affairs program straight up against its rivals’ firmly entrenched nightly news bulletins. But he believed it could win over a dedicated audience – just so long as Ten gave it the time it needed to prove itself.

“Say what you like about Seven and Nine 6pm news, they are still juggernauts when it comes to the available audiences,” he said. “Every night they are ranked first and second (in television ratings) – The Project struggled to stay in the top 20.

Former Seven News Sydney boss Jason Morrison. Picture: John Appleyard

“That’s because Seven’s and Nine’s news at 6pm are very resilient and the people running them now are good at moving with the audience and responding to change, so it’s going to be a hell of a fight for a new show.

“Ten also has an image problem with the audience. The Project has been sticking the middle finger up at a large chunk of the audience for too long and it will take a long time for mainstream, older, and more mainstream viewers, to trust Ten again.

“But if Ten gives the new show the same love and support they gave The Project over the years, then it has a chance.”

Morrison also dismissed suggestions, most recently espoused by The Project’s outgoing host Waleed Aly in The Age on Friday, that free-to-air television was “staring into the abyss” in Australia.

“Unfashionable as it seems to be to say, but even on a bad night, free-to-air still has the biggest audience numbers,” he said.

Peter Meakin says Ten’s new show has a daunting task ahead of it. Picture: AAP

“Every major brand is still there in the ad breaks. The sector needs to stop believing the bullshit that they’re doomed. They are psyching themselves into an early grave.”

The country’s most successful news executive, Peter Meakin, who has headed up the news and current affairs divisions at all three commercial networks during his career, agreed a daunting challenge lay ahead for the show.

“The thing about more mature audiences is that they’re also the most loyal audiences – and it is, and always has been, a real challenge to get people to change channels,” he said.

“But there’s still an audience for shows like this … I’m just glad I’m not involved because it’s a tough battle and I’m too old for tough battles.”