The number 10 featured a lot in the history of Studio 10, the morning show that was axed this week.
There was the name, of course, and the network: Channel 10. Its run lasted 10 years, and it had 10 fulltime hosts during that time.
And one Monday in April, earlier this year, shortly after host Sarah Harris had left for The Project, it had a painfully low 10,000 viewers. At the time, Ten insisted Studio 10 was a “staple” of its schedule. It wouldn’t stay that way for long.
Yet at one point, Studio 10 was regularly out rating either The Morning Show or Today Extra – or sometimes both.
News.com.au has spoken to a number of staff who previously worked on Studio 10.
They gave several reasons why the struggling show stuck around for so long – and one huge reason why its viewers began switching off.
“Channel 10 never understood what they had with the original Studio 10,” Robert McKnight, the show’s first executive producer, told news.com.au.
On Monday, it fell to current presenters Tristan McManus and Angela Bishop to tell viewers that the final episode would air on December 22.
“It’s a tough day for the whole Studio 10 family, because we have loved bringing you the show for the last 10 years,” long time entertainment reporter Bishop said in the video.
“I’m going to pinch a quote: ‘Don’t cry ‘cos it’s over, smile because it happened’.”
In a statement, Network 10 – owned by US giant Paramount Global – said Studio 10 had been “a great contributor to the daytime program line-up” but the decision to end the show was down to a “change in viewing habits”.
Bishop and McManus, along with co-host Narelda Jacobs and reporter Daniel Doody, would stay with Ten, the statement said.
Channel 10’s big morning plan
“Studio 10 was like working on a daily telethon,” Maurice Parker, who was a producer on the show until 2019, told news.com.au.
“It was an exciting grind producing up to 20 hours of live television a week”.
Launched in November 2013, Studio 10 was part of a bold two-step plan by Channel 10 to shake up morning TV which was ruled by Seven and Nine.
A new irreverent breakfast show, Wake Up, would seamlessly hand over to Studio 10.
Step one was a flop: Wake Up lasted just six months. But the channel’s executives could see promise inthe fledgling Studio 10.
David Knox, the editor of website TV Tonight, told news.com.au Studio 10’s combination of a live audience and a panel of opinionated hosts, similar to US hit panel show The View, “gave it a real point of difference over its rival shows”.
“It allowed for some spontaneity and debate, that sense of danger viewers hope to witness.”
The show could ricochet from live music, including a performance by rock band The Angels on the roof of the studio, to a grilling of Pauline Hanson, then into an advertorial followed by a debate on the desk.
Mr McKnight, who now runs media industry website TV Blackbox, said Studio 10’s success was also due to the chemistry between the original four hosts: media legend and now ABC chair Ita Buttrose, News Corp columnist Joe Hildebrand, then Channel 9 presenter Sarah Harris and journalist and newsreader Jess Rowe.
They were joined by the now late Jono Coleman who presented the advertorials – when not larking around with the hosts – and roving reporter David Robinson.
“Ita was the big drawcard and Joe was that wildcard,” Mr McKnight said.
“I was determined to poach Sarah from Nine, despite resistance from Ten management – and now they love her as well, they should – she is incredibly talented.
“We called her the ‘bus driver’, a role she did incredibly well.
“Jess wore her heart on her sleeve and always provided the alternative view on a topic,” he said.
“You could get your news fill and then have a laugh with Joe or Jono running around the studio naked.”
One former staff member, who didn’t wish to be named, told news.com.au it was an “exciting” and “fresh” show to work on.
‘They never understood Channel 10’
Within a few years, Studio 10 was making the management at Seven and Nine sweat.
“In 2017, the show was occasionally number one in the slot beating The Morning Show and Today Extra; mostly it was becoming a strong number two,” Mr McKnight said.
“And then Channel 10 began tinkering with the format.”
Mr McKnight told news.com.au changes had been “mooted” while he was still in charge and he’d warned bosses it would lead to disaster.
He was sacked in 2017 and the changes went ahead.
“Management had an idea of what a morning show should be and copied Nine and Seven.
“They never understood what they had with the original Studio 10 and why it worked,” he said.
“Even I was surprised at how fast the audience abandoned the show.”
As one staffer said: “It lost its audience because it lost its point of difference”.
In 2018, Ita Buttrose and Jessica Rowe quit. In 2020, Joe Hildebrand left too saying the “network needed to cut costs and I quit rather than take on a lesser role”.
Mr McKnight said at this point the show was on its last legs.
“In the first five years we had built this idea of family, but here was Channel 10 sacking staff and presenters – it was completely off brand.”
Why Studio 10 lasted so long
Nonetheless, the show soldiered on. New host Kerri-Anne Kennerly injected several headline grabbing controversies into the show including infamously clashing with guest host Yumi Stynes over racism accusations; while Denise Drysdale and Denise Scott became familiar faces on the desk.
“Having a morning show compete with the other networks maintained relevance for Ten,” said the former staff member.
“When the channel is struggling as a whole, completely bowing out of an important timeslot is a difficult call.”
Then there’s Australia’s strict local content rules that require free to air channels to broadcast at least 55 per cent home grown material.
Studio 10, a far cheaper and simpler show to make than a glossy drama, was 20 hours a week of that mandatory Australian-made content.
“Local content quotas would have helped the business case but ultimately the show needed to make money,” Mr McKnight said.
TV Tonight’s Mr Knox said, for a time at least, the advertising dollars must have made Studio 10 viable.
“The show stayed on much longer than its ratings justified.
“You have to acknowledge the current hosts, especially the enduring Angela Bishop, for pushing through when so few were watching.”
Channel 10 succeeded, he said, “where it runs its own race and does not clone the competition”.
“If it just mirrors programming already available on networks with bigger audiences it will always be in their shadow and lose its identity. It needs to keep taking risks.”
Studio 10, Mr Knox said, would be remembered for the chaos and the laughs.
“It gave us the Brussels Sprout battle between Ita Buttrose and Denise Drysdale, and a home to the late, great Jono Coleman.”
But perhaps the biggest legacy of Studio 10, he said, would be Harris who is now in prime time.
She was an “inspired casting choice,” he said, and had grown into a “seasoned prime time presenter”.
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Mr Parker said “fun and frivolity” was the show’s hallmark.
“Studio 10 was like going to your local RSL: there was a sense of community on and off screen,” he said.
“In a landscape starved of live entertainment programs, Studio 10 will be missed.”
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