Ten axes morning show, news

Australia’s financially struggling Network Ten is axing its breakfast show and three daily news bulletins, resulting in dozens of lay-offs.

Wake Up will fold this Friday, the same day that Ten is scrapping its early morning, 11.00 and late-night news. The 17.00 news, which wins its time slot, will continue.

Launched six months ago, the two-hour Wake Up has drawn as few as 35,000 viewers in the five capital cities, around a 10th of the audiences for Seven and Nine networks.

The network said a voluntary redundancy programme has begun in the news, operations and engineering department but gave no details. Local media speculated there could be as many as 150 lay-offs.

CEO Hamish McLennan said in an email to staff: “It is a tough period for Ten and we need to take some painful, but necessary, measures to restructure the business.

“Our existing business model needs to change and we need to achieve greater efficiencies, tighter cost management and greater focus in terms of the parts of the company in which we invest.

“We are in a constant, fierce battle for the attention of viewers and we need to ensure we are investing in the areas that will deliver the greatest potential in terms of audiences and revenue. The next few weeks will be a difficult and sad period, as colleagues leave the business.”

The early news and Wake Up are being replaced by local show Ready Steady Cook, Entertainment Tonight, repeats of The Bold and The Beautiful and Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals.

The 11.00 slot is being filled with reruns of local shows such as MasterChef Australia.