In a gloomy end to the long weekend, Network 10 announced that it was canning its beloved news program, The Project. An insider has since revealed the real reason why Beverley McGarvey, the Network 10 president, decided to pull the plug.
On Monday, Australian TV was hit with a massive blow after Network 10 officially confirmed that after almost 16 years, The Project would be coming to an end later this month after it revised its early evening programming.
As a result of the show’s axing, an insider claimed to news.com.au that close to 100 jobs will be impacted by the decision, as The Project broadcasts six nights a week with offices spanning across Melbourne and Sydney.
This includes current hosts and panellists Sarah Harris, Waleed Aly, Georgie Tunny, Hamish Macdonald, Sam Taunton, Susie Youssef and Rove McManus.
The real reason why The Project was cancelled
Per the publication, Network 10 president Beverley McGarvey addressed The Project‘s staff on Monday at their Melbourne office to apologise for the devastating news and explained that the decision to cancel the show was because “it just doesn’t stack up any longer” after being on the air for 16 years.
According to her, this was due to younger audiences shifting away from free-to-air television and while an audience for the show remained, McGarvey said it wasn’t “as well served by The Project as [audiences] were back in the day”.
“It’s really just evolution and we didn’t think we’d ever have this problem,” she said, per news.com.au.
“We didn’t think we’d be here for 16 years but as you all know those younger demographics in particular who really made the show… thrive in the beginning, have just evolved, and they’re watching different platforms and they’re watching different services.
“For those reasons, unfortunately, the show just doesn’t stack up any longer.”
During the meeting, McGarvey admitted that cancelling the show mid-season was “not a decision that we’ve made lightly”.
“It’s something we’ve thought about for a really long time. And I mean years. We have worked over the years to try and change things a little bit and evolve things — as you have all done — and unfortunately, we’re at the point now where it just doesn’t make sense,” the network president explained.
“The reason to do it in the middle of the year is that it’s just very difficult to do anything at the end of the year, in summer. It’s harder then and it’s harder for audiences to make changing habits.”
Further in the meeting, McGarvey recognised all the great work that has come as a result of The Project, and acknowledged that the sudden cancellation would be difficult for staff.
“I know it’s really hard to hear and today’s a really tough day but I think more than any other show that the network has ever had that The Project did a lot of great things,” she continued.
“It did a lot of great things for the media landscape but I think more broadly it did great things for Australian culture and not many shows resonate in the way that The Project did. And that meant, for all of us, it was very high profile, people liked to talk about it.
“It’s a click-baity show and you guys had to live through that. But I think more than anything there’s a lot to be proud of and we’re really proud of the show and we’re really sad this day had to come and it’s just a reality that it did.
“You guys have done a wonderful job in a very tough environment and I think the show has always had integrity which sets it apart from many other things and that’s been amazing.
“Because of all those reasons, the show getting cancelled after 16 years is much more difficult than shows that we normally cancel after three seasons or five seasons or 10 weeks or whatever it is, so we appreciate that this is difficult and you’ll need time to think about it.”
Concluding the meeting, the network president admitted that it was “difficult to give [staff] short notice”, with The Project‘s last show to air June 27.
“It’s difficult to give you short notice. It’s almost more difficult to keep going when you know that you’re not going to be going forever, so we’ve landed on that (June 27) date,” she stated.
“I want to thank you all for all your work, not just recently but over the years and thank all of the team at Roving, all of the various on-screen talent we’ve had over the years because you all work hard and they really bear the brunt of the good bits but also the hard bits of the show and we appreciate that and really thank them and also hope that you’re all proud that you were part of something that properly changed Australian media. I’m very sorry.”
When Network 10 broke the news, co-host Sarah Harris joked by urging fans to “keep an eye out for [her] OnlyFans page”, meanwhile Waleed Aly said the show “kicked down the door of how news could be done”.
This wasn’t the only devastating blow to Aussie television this week. On Wednesday, ABC confirmed that it would be axing its iconic current affairs show Q+A after 17 years on air.
“We’re very proud of Q+A‘s great achievements over the years. The team has done a terrific job, including a strong performance during the federal election campaign,” ABC’s news director Justin Stevens shared.
“We always need to keep innovating and renewing and, in the two decades since Q+A began, the world has changed,” Stevens continued.
“It’s time to rethink how audiences want to interact and to evolve how we can engage with the public to include as many Australians as possible in national conversations.
“We’ll be working on how we can continue to foster engagement of this nature in an innovative way.”
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