Rumours are spreading like wildfire throughout the TV industry that Ten will soon axe its dismal breakfast program Wake Up and replace it with a more cost effective ‘news-focused’ program hosted by Matt White from TEN’s Pyrmont studios.
Ten has made no secret that it developing a new show with Matt at the helm, in announcing his recruitment to the network last month Ten CEO Hamish McLennan said,
“We are also developing another show to take advantage of his considerable talents and will announce the details closer to his start date.”
This website understand’s it is Ten’s news director Peter Meakin that is leading the charge to launch a new breakfast show with a stronger news focus and White at the helm.
During his time at Seven it was Meakin that elevated White into the Today Tonight hosting role. When asked about the future of Wake Up in February, Meakin told the Sunday Telegraph that,
“Any show that rates the way Wake Up does obviously does not have a long term future and that’s just a fact,” Meakin, said.
“It’s looking at maybe another six months unless it starts to do a lot better.”
Network Ten Chief Executive Officer Hamish McLennan personally negotiated the recruitment of Matt White, he is currently on ‘gardening leave’ at Seven and will commence his new role at Ten in early July.
McLennan said: “Matt is one of the great all-rounders in Australian television. He is polished, classy, articulate and the ultimate professional in a wide range of roles – from news and public affairs to sport and special events. I am delighted that he has decided to join us.”
Wake Up has been a disaster for Ten. The program’s creator Adam Boland collapsed with mental health issues during the first week on air. Millions of dollars were invested creating a studio facility on a Manly Beach. Kilometres of fibre optic had to be layed through Sydney’s streets to complete the task. Yes the view is lovely but no one seemed to question the fact that the studio is small and difficult to operate in compared with the competition. Busy big name guests don’t have the time to travel meaning the majority of interviews are now conducted by satellite. This studio was so expensive to build that it will now be very hard for Ten to walk away from, and yet they must.
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