Following Channel 10‘s axing of The Project, which first aired in 2009, its replacement ,News+, debuted last night.
The new show performed well, though not spectacularly, attracting a Total TV National Reach of 769,000 and a Total TV National Average Audience of 291,000, placing it just outside the top 15 programs.
While it was rumoured that some panellists from The Project might be joining the new outfit, instead, the current affairs program has a whole new team.
Its main anchors are veteran journalists Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace. They will anchor from Sunday to Thursday, while Fridays will be anchored by senior journalist and news anchor Ursula Heger and national affairs editor Hugh Riminton.
Despite Network 10 bagging an interview with the Prime Minister for News+‘s first outing, viewers online roasted the debut episode last night, with some taking to X to share their thoughts.
“Anyone else bored so far? #10newsplus,” tweeted one viewer, with another agreeing: “Same. Disappointing”.
Some labelled 10 News+ a knockoff of rival network shows like A Current Affair.
The Project, once the darling of Ten’s news and current affairs line-up, struggled for ratings in recent years.
Back in early June, The Project regularly ranked between the 15th to 23rd top-rated show with average audiences of between 245,000 to 390,000. These are ratings that placed Ten well below its commercial-free to air rivals in the coveted 6.30pm to 7.30pm time slot.
Over on Nine, A Current Affair raked in a Total TV National Reach of 1,816,000 and a Total TV National Average Audience of 1,200,000.
Seven‘s The Chase Australia siphoned a Total TV National Reach of 1,448,000 and a Total TV National Average Audience of 716,000.
