Network 10’s News Boss Explains the Real Reason Behind 10 News+’ Weekday Exit
Just over a year after launching with high hopes, 10 News+ is undergoing a dramatic shake-up, with Network 10 removing the current affairs program from its weekday schedule and limiting it to Sunday nights only.
The decision follows months of disappointing ratings and multiple attempts to revive the program. But according to Network 10’s vice-president of news, Martin White, the move is about more than just audience numbers.
Martin White Explains the Reason Behind the Shake-Up
Staff were informed of the changes on Wednesday morning, with White telling employees the network had made the decision after listening to what viewers wanted.
“While we are still finalising the format, we are making this change because our audience has told us they want more local news,” White said in an email obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Beginning August 10, Network 10 will expand its flagship 5pm news bulletin from one hour to 90 minutes, replacing the weekday edition of 10 News+ with extended local news coverage.
Although the nightly program is being dropped, 10 News+ will continue airing as a dedicated Sunday evening current affairs program at 6:30pm.
White said the investigative journalism that became the program’s hallmark would not disappear entirely.
“We will still give audiences investigations, exclusives and insight via the 10 News+ team across the week, as well as on Sunday’s dedicated program,” he said.
He added that the changes would allow the network to “maximise our resourcing” while providing more local content across Australia’s states.
A Difficult Road From the Very Beginning
Hosted by Amelia Brace and Denham Hitchcock, 10 News+ debuted in June 2025 as the high-profile replacement for The Project, which itself had been cancelled after nearly 16 years despite attracting a larger audience.
The one-hour nightly program struggled to gain traction almost immediately.
In January, Network 10 reduced the program from 60 minutes to just 30 minutes in an effort to improve its performance and retain viewers during the competitive 6pm news timeslot.
Internal emails at the time revealed the network had even experimented with altering the transition between its 5pm bulletin and 10 News+.
Instead of presenters signing off, broadcasts moved directly into the new program without the traditional goodbye, in the hope of preventing viewers from switching to rival bulletins on Seven and Nine.
“We’ll see what difference it makes next week before deciding what we’ll do next,” White wrote in one internal email outlining the week-long trial.
Despite those efforts, the program continued to struggle in the ratings.
Network 10 Says Its News Division Is Still Growing
While 10 News+ failed to establish itself as a weekday success, White insisted the broader news division had been moving in the right direction.
According to the executive, Network 10 recorded its largest monthly national news audience since January, while streaming audiences increased by 45 per cent compared with 2025.
Those figures, he said, supported the decision to concentrate resources on local news rather than maintaining a separate weekday current affairs program.
The Hosts Are Staying — Despite the Major Changes
Neither of the program’s presenters will be leaving the network.
Denham Hitchcock will remain with Network 10, working on upcoming documentary projects, while Amelia Brace will soon begin maternity leave before returning to the network’s news division.
The changes also follow another major restructuring announced late last year, when Network 10 cancelled its afternoon news bulletin hosted by Narelda Jacobs.
At the time, White similarly told staff the decision was based on audience research and making better use of newsroom resources, insisting it was “no reflection on the work our daytime team has done.”
Viewers React as Another Chapter Ends
The scaling back of 10 News+ marks another significant shift for Network 10’s news strategy after a series of programming changes over the past two years.
For many viewers, the announcement raises fresh questions about the future of long-form current affairs on free-to-air television—and whether the network’s renewed focus on local news will succeed where 10 News+ could not.