To use a phrase that is already close to saturation point when it comes to local media, a source inside Network 10 today told Fairfax that staff at the struggling station are facing a “world of pain”, with a number of serious cuts looming. While the network is being cagey on the subject of what exactly will be cut, a senior executive, also speaking to Fairfax, said that details will likely be announced later this week.
The struggling breakfast show Wake Up seems to be on the chopping block – for all their live Tweeting and regurgitating of internet memes, Natarsha Belling and James Mathison never really caught on with youth audiences the way the network wanted. The show pulls in “one-tenth” the viewers of Seven’s Sunrise, so it’s no surprise that executives are giving it the flick.
More surprising is the news that 10 will also cut its early, morning and late news bulletins. Fairfax’s anonymous source said that those working behind the scenes who will bear the brunt of the cuts. Floor managers, camera operators and editors have “already started looking for new jobs.” It is also claimed that there will be “substantial cuts” to state-based news bulletins, with presenters remaining as “window-dressing” while the bulk of content is syndicated nationally.
Network 10 has struggled to find ratings success in recent years. Its news broadcasts are consistently out-rated by those of rival networks 7 and 9, and things aren’t that much better on the reality front, with 9’s top-rated The Voice consistently pulling in more than twice the viewers of its notional rival, 10’s struggling Master Chef.
We’re still pinning our hopes on Australia’s favourite tipsy aunt Kerri-Anne coming back to fix all of Network 10’s problems, but we won’t hold our breath.
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