The future of Channel 10 as a viable commercial network is being questioned after a horror year which saw tentpole shows such as MasterChef Australia, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette bomb in the ratings.
In addition to a string of crushing defeats in prime time - including the failed launch of Making It Australia - flagship current affairs program The Project is losing viewers year on year, and Studio 10 and 10 News First are on a worrying downhill trend.
While 10 has a decent audience on its streaming platform 10 Play, it is struggling badly in the overnight five-city metro ratings, which is still considered the most important market for advertisers.
There are now fears the ViacomCBS-owned network simply can't go on like this if the numbers don't improve, with former TV executive Rob McKnight saying: 'This is a network that is dying in front of our eyes.'
However, Channel 10 has rejected these concerns, saying some of the figures being bandied about in the trade press are misleading - especially given that TV viewership is down across the board.
The future of Channel 10 as a viable commercial network is being questioned after a horror year which saw tentpole shows such as MasterChef Australia, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette bomb in the ratings. Pictured: Brooke Blurton on The Bachelorette
Mr McKnight, a former 10 executive, said on the TV Blackbox podcast this week: 'I know they're making a play for streaming [but] how low can these ratings go before they can't make revenue? I find it extraordinary. I just do.'
He added that 10's American owners don't seem to care about the dwindling ratings.
'This is a network that is dying in front of our eyes. I always supported the idea that there could be three free-to-air commercial networks. What this is showing me is that that is not the case anymore,' Mr McKnight said.
'They're all struggling but 10 seriously is the wounded animal limping and the fact is they keep running the same s**t and recommissioning the same s**t and it's not flying with the public.'
There are now fears the ViacomCBS-owned network simply can't go on like this if the numbers don't improve, with former TV executive Rob McKnight (pictured) saying this week: 'This is a network that is dying in front of our eyes'
Perhaps the most alarming example of the ratings decline is The Project, which has lost almost a third of its audience since 2011.
The program, hosted by Waleed Aly, Carrie Bickmore and Lisa Wilkinson, has seen its metro ratings plummet to an all-time low of just 367,000 this year.
That's a 30 per cent decline from its five-city audience of 538,000 a decade ago.
The national audience, which includes regional viewers, has also seen a similar percentage drop from 725,000 in 2011 to 490,000 in 2021.
These figures have made The Project commercial TV's worst-performing nightly premium program.
The biggest losses have been on the east coast, which is considered the most important market from an advertising perspective.
Perhaps the most alarming example of the ratings decline is The Project, which has lost almost a third of its audience since 2011. Pictured (L-R): Tommy little, Peter Helliar, Hamish Macdonald, Carrie Bickmore, Waleed Aly, Lisa Wilkinson and Gorgi Coghlan
In Sydney, it's fallen to just 96,000 viewers per night from a high of 130,000 in 2011.
The show's celebrated home of Melbourne has also been tuning out, with ratings down to 133,000 from a 2011 high of 180,000.
Brisbane has seen the worst decline of all, shedding almost half its audience from 120,000 in 2011 to just 68,000 in 2021.
These grim numbers are despite the fact Channel 10 is reportedly paying Wilkinson more than a million dollars as a panelist and host of the Sunday edition.
However, a 10 spokesperson said comparing ratings 10 years apart is 'unfair'.
They pointed out that total TV viewing in the time slot is down a similar amount from 2011, with Seven down 26 per cent.
