Channel 10 ‘lines up new show to replace The Project in a matter of weeks’

There's currently no official word from Network 10 as to the fate of The Project or its biggest stars such as Waleed Aly. Picture / Channel 10

Australian current affairs and talk show The Project has reportedly been axed by Channel 10 and will be replaced with a new show in coming months.

Insiders told TV Blackbox a new current affairs show with a new format is being developed by the network to replace its long-running flagship show.

The insider claimed development of the show has been under way for some time and it could be launched as soon as next month.

The new show is thought to be set to run four times a week for 30 minutes, a big change from The Project’s six hour-long shows a week.

It’s unclear what Channel 10 will air during the other half an hour.

News.com.au has reached out to Channel 10 for comment.

Once an iconic mainstay of current affairs television Down Under, the show has struggled in recent years to keep hold of its audience as viewing habits have shifted from live free-to-air TV to streaming.

Ratings for the show, which made its debut in 2009, have halved in recent years and sparked numerous rumours about its demise which Channel 10 have previously denied.

Rumours emerged as recently as March when Channel 10’s former news editor said “shrinking budgets” had left the future of the show in doubt.

“With audiences shrinking across the board and the subsequent cost-cutting, it’s hard to be optimistic [about the future of the show],” he told the Daily Mail.

“Budgets have always been important. In the old days, they were a starting point – and, if the show was successful, complaints of overspending were often muted. We may even have been extravagant at times, but we could afford to be. But there’s no money anymore and very little fun,” he added.

On Thursday, entertainment expert Peter Ford told 3AW Breakfast he believed the show would be gone “sooner rather than later”, and would be replaced by a show based in Sydney.

“I don’t think The Project will see the year out,” Ford insisted.

Broadcast television has struggled across the board in recent years with the shift to streaming.

Last year, Channel 10 quietly removed The Masked Singer, The Bachelor and Gladiators from its schedule.