Ratings not quite those Project-ed
DESPITE all the hype and attention it appears Lisa Wilkinson’s much publicised switch from Channel 9’s The Today Show to Channel 10’s The Project hasn’t persuaded viewers to switch channels, too.
Although the presenter’s debut on The Sunday Project which she co-hosts with journalist Hamish McDonald and comedian Tommy Little on January 28 got off to a record breaking start, six weeks later the ratings have fallen dramatically on Sunday nights.
Wilkinson’s first show pulled in 481,000 five-city metro viewers in its first halfhour and 583,000 at 7pm, which was up 200,000 on the 2017 average of the show.
However, on Sunday night passed, just 227,000 viewers tuned in to the program at 6.30pm, pushing the show out of the Top 20 programs for the day and losing over 50 per cent of it’s debut audience.
However, a spokesperson from Network Ten said they were pleased with the performance of the show.
“Judging the performance of a television show on the basis of one night’s ratings is misleading,” they said.
“Despite sitting in a highly competitive timeslot, it has increased its audience by 28 per cent across the full hour and by 34 per cent in the second halfhour, compared with 2017.
“Lisa, Hamish, Tommy and the team are doing a great job and viewers are responding accordingly.”