\u201cThey need to double their ratings, at the very least, to be sustainable,\u201d says Pearman Media analyst Steve Allen, noting the challenge is compounded by the network\u2019s financial constraints. \u201cTen don\u2019t have the luxury of choice; they don\u2019t have a cupboard full of programs they can pick from if this fails \u2013 which gives them an even stronger incentive to make it work<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Ten news boss Martin White admits the one-hour program, which airs at 6pm between Sunday to Friday, has a long way to go.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no illusions about the task we\u2019re facing, given we\u2019re in one of the most hotly contested time slots in TV,\u201d he says. \u201cBut we\u2019re not in as dire a position as some have suggested.\u201d<\/p>\n Brace and Hitchcock say Ten is backing the show and giving it time to grow its audience.<\/p>\n Indeed, the program\u2019s co-anchors, Amelia Brace and Denham Hitchcock<\/a>, take comfort from other Ten series that got off to an equally dismal start. Chief among them is Have You Been Paying Attention?, which debuted with 301,000 viewers in 2013 before sinking to 168,000 the following year. Had it aired on Seven or Nine (the owner of this masthead), it almost certainly would have been axed in its infancy \u2013 but Ten stuck with it. Now, HYBPA? is one of the network\u2019s biggest hits<\/a>, regularly exceeding 1 million viewers.<\/p>\n Likewise, The Cheap Seats fell to 255,000 viewers a few weeks after its 2021 launch; since then, it has roughly doubled<\/a> its audience. And The Project \u2013 which notched up almost 16 years before being cancelled<\/a> in June due to high production costs \u2013 was first reported to be on the chopping block a mere 10 days after it premiered in 2009.<\/p>\n \u201cTen has a unique position in the marketplace in that it can take more risks and give things more time to grow,\u201d Brace says. \u201cHistorically, they\u2019ve been rewarded for that, which certainly gives us confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Adds Hitchcock: \u201cWe were sitting opposite [Ten network president] Beverley McGarvey at the Logies the other night. She told us, face-to-face, that she loves the show and that this is a long-term project.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Harris (left), Carrie Bickmore, Sam Taunton, Dave Hughes, Georgie Tunny and Waleed Aly on the final episode of The Project.Credit: David Cook<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean the 10 News+ format won\u2019t evolve: recently, Ten commissioned market research to gauge viewers\u2019 opinions about everything from its \u201ctone, pace and delivery\u201d to the length of its reports.<\/p>\n \u201c10 News+ is actually quite a hard sell; it\u2019s tricky to explain to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n Network Ten insider<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not making huge, wholesale changes, although those decisions ultimately rest with the network,\u201d says Dan Sutton, the program\u2019s executive producer. \u201cWhat you might see are some little tweaks as we go along. It\u2019s a smart move by any network to do market research on a new show, and we\u2019re listening to that feedback so we can deliver a show that people love to tune in to.\u201d<\/p>\n Allen sees Ten\u2019s investment in research as proof the network is not giving up on 10 News+, although he remains sceptical about its long-term prospects.<\/p>\n \u201cTen are very strong at 5 o\u2019clock [with their state-based 10 News First bulletins],\u201d he says, \u201cbut I\u2019m not convinced<\/a> that another hour of news and current affairs at six o\u2019clock is going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n Amelia Brace and Denham Hitchcock on red carpet at the Logie Awards on Sunday night. Credit: Getty Images for TV WEEK Logies Awards<\/p>\n To some inside Ten, Allen\u2019s observation about \u201canother hour of news and current affairs\u201d sums up their challenge.<\/p>\n \u201c10 News+ is actually quite a hard sell,\u201d says one journalist who is not authorised to speak publicly. \u201cHere at Ten, we know it\u2019s not just a replica of the straight news bulletins on Seven and Nine, but it\u2019s not a completely new, out-of-the box idea either \u2013 and that\u2019s tricky to explain to the public in a way that\u2019s both clear and appealing.\u201d<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n So what is 10 News+, exactly? Although it gives viewers the news of the day, it\u2019s not a traditional bulletin. Often, it features longer-form stories in the style of Seven\u2019s Spotlight or Nine\u2019s 60 Minutes. While its direct rivals might devote 45 seconds to a report about declining childhood literacy rates, 10 News+ will invite experts to spend five minutes debating the topic.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hope is that when people watch the show, they will be informed about something they might not have known beforehand,\u201d Sutton says. \u201cI want them to hear an opinion or an idea that they hadn\u2019t considered.\u201d<\/p>\n White agrees, offering three recent stories as examples.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had the Melbourne mum taking TAB to court because she\u2019s a known problem gambler; a lot of other networks were interested but she came to us,\u201d he says. \u201cWe interviewed Hannah Thomas<\/a>, the Greens candidate who could lose an eye after a clash with police during a protest. And we\u2019ve done a lot of very nuanced and contextual reporting around the situation in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben Willee, executive director of media and data at Spinach Advertising, says Ten\u2019s task is not an easy one.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to launch any new show in 2025 because there is so much competition,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it\u2019s even more difficult if your ratings are not as strong as the other networks, because you have fewer viewers<\/a> to promote your new programs to.\u201d<\/p>\n But Willee does not accept that a one-hour news and current affairs show, airing six nights a week, is destined to fail in what some believe is an already-saturated market.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a reason the networks invest so much in news, and that\u2019s because it rates,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s still a very strong appetite for it, so if 10 News+ isn\u2019t working, it could be that there\u2019s a problem with the format or a problem with the promotion.<\/p>\n \u201cTen still have a few levers they can pull: they might go very hard on promotion, which I don\u2019t feel they\u2019ve done yet. They might tweak the format or they may do something really surprising that brings in a whole new crop of viewers.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, 10 News+ attracted an average audience of 159,000 \u2013 its highest figure in three weeks. Although it was thumped by the 6pm bulletins on Seven and Nine, which averaged more than 1.37 million viewers each, it may suggest early signs of recovery.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n Ten\u2019s 5pm bulletin continues to draw its biggest audience since 2022, and has grown by 14 per cent compared to last year, giving the network a stronger lead-in to its fledgling program. (Ten\u2019s lunchtime, afternoon and late bulletins \u2013 all of which serve as cross-promotional platforms \u2013 have enjoyed even greater increases.)<\/p>\n On social media, 10 News+ content has racked up 1.2 million views on TikTok<\/a>, 1.9 million on YouTube<\/a> and 2.2 million on Instagram<\/a>. The program is also available on Spotify, in audio and video formats, where it can be streamed ad-free by paid subscribers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just a ratings game any more,\u201d says White, referring to the traditional TV metric of live broadcast audiences. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be a bit less binary in terms of how we judge success because it\u2019s a multi-platform game<\/a> now \u2013 and it does take time to build brand awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n A journalist from a rival network, speaking on the condition of anonymity, insists it\u2019s too early to write off 10 News+.<\/p>\n \u201cFrankly, the first episode was pretty bad<\/a>,\u201d says the industry veteran. \u201cIt was clunky and awkward and uncomfortable to watch. But I have to hand it to them; it\u2019s a much slicker operation now and they\u2019ve actually done some pretty decent reporting. I wouldn\u2019t bet the house on it ever beating [Seven or Nine in the 6pm timeslot] but nor will I be shocked if it does find a foothold.\u201d<\/p>\n Have you been watching 10 News+? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments below. <\/p>\n Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Brace](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/f58631503336986f689afa6682cd09289b264e20.jpeg\")
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