A significant drop in ratings for Australia’s beleaguered third-placed network raises serious questions on whether Australia can sustain three commercial free-to-air networks
Australian TV viewers are leaving channel 10 in droves, according to a new analysis obtained by TV Blackbox.
The declining trend is so significant it raises serious concerns about the viability of the network which has failed to excite audiences with its slate of programming.
Of major concern is the three daily staples: The Project, 10 News First and Studio 10.
The decline in audiences for these three programs is indicative of issues experienced across 10’s programming line-up.
THE PROJECT
Ratings have plummetted to an all-time low of just 367,000 5 city metro — shedding nearly 30% of its 2011 audience of 538,000.
The show now owns the dubious title of commercial TV’s worst-performing regular nightly premium program.
It’s the East Coast where the audience has deserted the program in droves over this period.
In Sydney the show has bottomed out to just 96,000 per night from a high of 130,000 in 2011.
In Melbourne (where the show is produced) it’s dropped to 133,000 from a high of 180,000 in 2011.
Brisbane has seen the worst decline of all, shedding almost half its audience from 120,000 in 2011 to just 68,000 in 2021.
10 NEWS FIRST
In 2001 10’s news service recorded 1.07 million 5 city metro. Since then it has shed a staggering 70% of its audience to sit currently at 363,000 across all capital cities.
Its commercial share has more than halved across this period from 49.4% to sit now at 22.5%.
While the news has collapsed in every market, the worst figures have been recorded in Melbourne (a drop from 51.1% to 21.5%) and Adelaide )a drop from 54.3% to 17.0%).
STUDIO 10
10’s morning show peaked in 2016 and 2017. The audience growth came from Sunrise in 2016 and then the show took audience from the Today show in 2017.
Melbourne and Brisbane were the best-performing markets for the show in those two key years.
In the 5 years since then, it has fallen back to its start-up number of just 42k (5 city metro), with the audience gains in Melbourne and Brisbane collapsing.
The show halved in Melbourne from 24k to 12k.
It was even worse in Brisbane, which went from 21k in 2017 to just 6k in 2021.
PRIME TIME
While the figures above are for the three regular shows which air on 10 around the year, the news is also bad on a number of fronts in prime time.
- MasterChef Australia was down 39% this year vs 2020
- The Bachelor was down 29% this year vs 2020
- The Masked Singer was down 25% this year vs 2020
- Australian Survivor was flat year on year
- Making It Australia bombed
- Celebrity MasterChef is struggling.
- The Bachelorette is down over 30% this year vs 2020.
For more analysis on this story, listen to the latest episode of the TV Blackbox podcast in the player below.
Note: Due to an ongoing dispute regarding editorial independence, the 10 Network and its parent company ViacomCBS declined to provide assistance with the preparation of this content.
Channel 10 also treat viewers as idiots with the same constant reruns like old NCIS (When more current episodes available). Old old reruns of programs like Walker Texas Ranger, Diagnosis Murder for God’s sake we have seen them so many times before.
Batchelor and Batchelorette and other reality shows are crap and a turn off.
Advertising has gone to the heap. No more quality advertising and I can’t blame advertisers due to lack of audience.
CBS Viacom either improve your act or pack up and go back to America where you can select a moronic audience.
Why “third” commercial network, surely there are four. Did you forget SBS and all its adverts?
Hi Frank – SBS is owned by the Federal Government (like the ABC) but with a different charter that allows it to sell and run ads. It is not a commercial network.
Maybe Lisa Wilkinson has something to do with the downward spiral of the project..get rid of her!!
Sick to death of having to be see the adds for shows that are 2months before they start plus what’s happening next time
You go woke you go broke.
Hi Rlio – If it were only one program that might ring true…however it isn’t. It’s not as simple as you are making out.
Just stay asleep then Rlio.
I abandoned the project show BECAUSE of Lisa Wilkinson .it’s irritating watching her on Television.
LISA is big Hypocrite She’s bringing down the network with her… Knowing it all.
Ten news was great till the axing of Tim Bailey cause they still have the weather on just with another person who is boring.
It’s really easy.
Government should
Cancel stop funding the ABC & SBS.
Then 10 9 7 can thrive….
Then Government can have
Millions to spend on the country…
Hi Zoran – the ABC does not take any funding from 7, 9, or 10, and SBS only compete for a small portion. There is zero evidence to suggest that the commercial networks will flourish if the ABC and SBS were closed down.
I gave up on Ten a few years ago when they consistently moved tv programs around to different times, or put them on extended ‘breaks’ while they played their so-called flag-ship program. Now I just use it as ‘filler’ in between waiting for the shows I’ve reserved on my tv to start, or when there’s something boring on the radio station I listen to, so I often miss the end of whatever repeat happen to be on because my tv switches automatically to something more interesting. I’m not a fan of game-shows or reality shows and all current affairs programs these days are just digital tabloids.
I gave up when I couldn’t hear any news through the idiotic laughing, giggling, over-talking each other etc
10 has the only shows I watch on commercial TV. I haven’t watched a show on 7 or 9 in years. Neither have anything remotely watchable. It would suck if 10 stopped making awesome shows like Survivor, Masterchef and Amazing Race because people prefer watching jerks on the Block or utter human filth on that dating show I can’t recall the name of because it was so bad I tried to block it from my memory.
Too many lame things being sold on Studio 10 and Denise needs to retire.
I personally love The Project and have often messaged about some great covid stories. I’ve been told to email them and then never hear anything again.
Ch10 needs to lessen repeats of shows and stop allowing other popular shows going to Pay TV.
So many good shows have been dropped or are just so far behind in season viewing.
If you look at what’s popular overseas it’s time to get new and popular tv shows.
More and more people are turning to Netflix, Paramount etc and ch10 is doing nothing to try and hold there viewers.
Gave up watching ten news when production went out of SA. Looks like everyone else has as well.
Very disappointed when they got rid of mal doing weather miss the dog segment Iwe don’t like most of the channel 10 segments .and find the weather girls generic .shows old and dated as if the manager wants to run 10 down.
Yet another 10 beat up on TV Blackbox.
Hi Simon – I’m not sure how it’s a beat up. The numbers speak for themselves.
It would be interesting to see whether Ten’s ratings share has likewise fallen. Would raw numbers have fallen in the past 10 years at 9 and 7 as well (since everyone is watching Netflix, Stan etc now)?
I can see the decline in raw numbers is an issue regardless (fewer eyeballs means less revenue); it would just be good to be clear on whether C10 has been hit harder than the other two, or whether they’re just more vulnerable as they’ve always been at the bottom of the food chain.
Are we going to have to suffer this full length feature ad for I’m a celebrity all the way thro to Jan ?
Good way to lose even more audience . Saturation ads don’t work , guess your not smart enough
To have worked that out !!!
I avoided watching THe Project show years ago because the presenters (Waleed, Carrie, Lisa) were too condescending and they make fun of people. The inane, idiotic, silly laughs coming from Peter was enough to turn me off.
Saturation advertising makes me sick. If I choose to watch anything on 10 I record it so that I can edit out ALL of the adds. I would not waste money advertising on this channel as I am sure many people do the same Therefore who watches the adds.? So sick of the sight of Chris and Julia I wouldn’t watch that survivor show if it was the only show on TV
I tried to watch Studio 10 while I was home during Covid but I couldn’t stand it for more than a couple of days. What a waste of time and money by Channel 10 and as for those interminable advertorial type ads they are enough to drive anyone to drink.
I persevered with The Project for quite a long time but when Lisa Wilkinson came onto the show that was the last straw. They advertise that is news delivered differently but really it is just all about themselves. Apart from advances in technology Channel 10 doesn’t seem to have progressed much from the early days of television in 50’s and 60’s.Austrsalia.