Channel 10’s morning program Studio 10 has officially been axed.
A 10 spokesperson confirmed on Monday: ‘Network 10 today announced that the last episode of Studio 10 will air on Friday, December 22 after more than a decade on n screens.’
‘Studio 10 has been a great contributor to Network 10’s daytime program lineup. We would like to sincerely thank all those who have participated in and supported the program over the past decade and to the millions of viewers who tuned in over that time.
‘It has been a show that has provided copious amounts of feelgood fun, joy, passion, heart, entertainment, and unforgettable moments all against the backdrop of live television.
‘Although we are sad to be farewelling the program, the decision to cease production of Studio 10 comes after a change in viewing habits in daytime television. In 2024 there will be a new morning lineup with an increased focus on news and current affairs later in the day.’
Channel 10’s morning program Studio 10 has officially been axed. (L-R: Studio 10’s Angela Bishop, Sarah Harris, Tristan MacManus, Narelda Jacobs)
Studio 10’s original executive producer Rob McKnight has expressed his sadness for the decline of the once-great talk show.
‘It’s a sad day for everyone who has been involved in the ‘little show that could.’ ‘Although it’s current version is not the show we once made, everyone who had anything to do with Studio 10 did it with passion and love,’ McKnight, who runs industry website TV Blackbox, said.
‘Shows come and go but this one will always have a piece of my heart.’
The announcement comes one year after former Studio 10 host Sarah Harris jumped ship to The Project amid the show’s ever-declining ratings.
For the past year, the show has been helmed by Tristan MacManus, Angela Bishop, Narelda Jacobs and Daniel Doody.
In June, Channel 10 attempted to garner a boost in popularity by bringing in major Instagram influencer Emmylou MacCarthy as a regular guest.
Studio 10 has become one of the lowest rating-daytime shows in n TV history, falling far behind rival programs on Seven, Nine and the ABC
‘Although we are sad to be farewelling the program, the decision to cease production of Studio 10 comes after a change in viewing habits in daytime television’, a Channel 10 spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday. Pictured are Studio 10 panelists L-R: Narelda Jacobs, Tristan MacManus, and Jess Eva
The embattled program has been haemorrhaging viewers by the tens of thousands in the past year, leading industry spies to repeatedly question how long it would last on the air.
In April, the show’s ratings plummeted to the lowest in its decade-long history, reaching a shocking average of just 10,000 viewers in the five-city metro, The n reported at the time.
However, a Network 10 spokesperson recently told Daily Mail that Studio 10 wasn’t going anywhere.
In June, Channel 10 attempted to garner a boost in popularity by bringing in major Instagram influencer Emmylou MacCarthy (pictured) as a regular guest
‘Studio 10 is a staple in our daytime program schedule boasting fun, entertaining and engaging content led by a fantastic panel,’ the spokesperson said.
The show’s ratings low is the latest in a series of devastating blows for the morning show, which recently saw its running time slashed by an hour.
In December, it was announced Studio 10 would be cut from three-and-a-half hours to two hours, shifting its start time to 10am instead of 8.30am.
According to The n, the numbers are so low that ‘few media pundits were overly surprised’ when Studio 10’s run time was cut down from three-and-a-half hours to two hours, and now starts at 10am instead of 8am.
Studio 10 had also been losing panelists at an alarming rate in recent years.
Cracks first began showing at Studio 10 back in 2018, when panelists Ita Buttrose and Jessica Rowe both departed the show.
At the time, a TV insider told Woman’s Day magazine that the show was ‘starting to look a lot like rats leaving a sinking ship.’
Ita departed following rumoured on-set tensions with co-host Denise Drysdale, which eventually culminated in the now-infamous ‘Brussels sprout incident’.
Tensions flared in November 2017 when Denise ‘hurled’ a Brussels sprout at Ita while filming a Christmas segment, The Daily Telegraph claimed.
Denise also apologised for the incident, telling the Herald Sun: ‘I rang Ita for Christmas; we talk, we all get along. I did the wrong thing, it was totally my fault, I am sorry it happened.’
However in a statement to Daily Mail , Network Ten strongly denied claims there was tension between Ita and Denise, labelling the allegations ‘offensive’.
Rowe meanwhile announced her departure from Studio 10 in March 2018, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family.
Woman’s Day magazine subsequently claimed that Rowe had reportedly left the show because she realised the program was ‘in decline.’
‘Jess is a TV veteran and the show hasn’t been working for at least six months, so while she does want to spend more time being a mum, I think she also realised it was a good time to walk away,’ a source said.
Former Studio 10 panelists Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Natarsha Belling and Joe Hiltebrand was also axed from the show in 2020 amid Channel 10’s mass layoffs.