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Axed: The Circle

Breaking news: TEN revamps its morning line-up by axing The Circle but keeping Breakfast.

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TEN is revamping its morning line-up by axing The Circle and retaining its struggling Breakfast show.

The Circle will air its final episode on Friday, as part of a new line-up of programming from Monday August 6th, including several US titles.

This includes:

· The Talk: US weekday talk show hosted by Sara Gilbert.

· TEN Morning News: Hosted by Ron Wilson.

· Entertainment Tonight: Entertainment magazine institution, part of TEN’s CBS deal after Nine did not renew.

· The Insider: Spin-off of Entertainment Tonight.

From August 6, Breakfast will run from 6am to 8.30am, presented by Paul Henry, Kathryn Robinson and Magdalena Roze. TEN is yet to comment on rumours the show will undergo a further revamp.

In a statement TEN thanks Pam Barnes, the Executive Producer of The Circle, hosts Gorgi Coghlan and Yumi Stynes and show staff.

“The decision to cease production of The Circle is unfortunate and was not taken lightly. But tight fiscal control and cost discipline are a core part of our strategy,” TEN CEO James Warburton, said.

Network TEN Head of News and Current Affairs, Anthony Flannery, said: “We appreciate the efforts and dedication of everyone involved with The Circle, including Executive Producer Pam Barnes.

“Network TEN remains focused on providing viewers with a comprehensive News and Current Affairs line-up from breakfast to bedtime, with Breakfast, TEN News At Five, The Project, TEN Late News and now TEN Morning News,” Flannery said.

The Circle has struggled since the exit of Chrissie Swan and Denise Drysdale in December, using guest co-presenters.

Beginning Monday August 6th:
• 6am to 8.30am: Breakfast
• 8.30am to 9am: Wurrawhy
• 9am to 10am: The Talk
• 10am to 11am: TEN Morning News
• 11am to 11.30am: Entertainment Tonight
• 11.30am to 12: The Insider

This post updates.

94 Responses

  2. @adtn – What’s happening in my local city would mean what’s happening with politicians in Sydney, not in my city, which is in regional NSW. What a huge turn-off that would be. No one these days has the budget to produce “local” breakfast shows. LA generates more news in a day than Sydney does in a week.
    CBS This Morning is on TEN 3:30am-5am.

  3. This is sad. The Circle was definitely the best of the mid-morning shows. Did anyone watch this mornings show? There was something weird going on. Now I know what it was.

  4. As it’s good to see Entertainment Tonight back, I’d rather see those 3 US shows that are cheaper, than the regular advertorial crap The Circle was peddling, as with the 9 and 7 equivalent shows. It meant that The Circle only had about 45 minutes max of content.

  5. Josh777 – You seem to have forgotten that it was Lachlan Murdoch who personally hired Paul Henry – the very reason Breakfast is failing and appears doomed – no doubt to help run his conservative agenda.

  6. This is great news for ch10. Finally some good programs like The Talk, ET and The Insider on tv in the morning. The Circle was boring, glad its gone.

  7. Stupid decision channel 10..That woeful Breakfast show should be axed, not the Circle..
    Murdoch’s dear friend Henry keeps his job for now..what a surprise..

  8. Pack it in Ten, seriously.

    I suppose this isn’t surprising, considering most recent decisions lately. At least advertising will be cheap when viewers continue to dessert this station

  9. Personally I do agree with Rieuwen,that the show seemed to go downhill after Yumi’s comments re:Australian soldier and I also think,its revolving door of everchanging hosts did it no favours.So though I rarely watch now,it’s more the shock of why axe The Circle but keep Breakfast,when it’s clearly the weaker of the two (unless it’s going to be a new,revamped version).

  11. Well seems though every comment so far has been negative I’ll right a positive one – Lauchlan Murdoch has come through with getting TEN back on track to being aimed at it’s target audience of 16-30 age bracket. The U.S. imports will really work for their demo so it makes a good argument.
    But I have to say some negative – The Circle was doing fairly good and was ‘sort-of’ hitting the target audience, but to cancel it and keep Breakfast going which isn’t doing well or hitting the target audience is absolutely rediculous. I seriously think someone should send everyone at TEN the movie Morning Glory (starring Rachel McAdams) on DVD so they can see what people in the 16-30’s age range want – the weatherman got a tattoo on his butt, he was put on a rollercoaster, the host got in a sumo outfit and took on a sumo, etc. etc. etc. And I’d like to point out that all of these examples were done at one point in time or another on TEN’s very well rated show Rove (tattoo of scruncher or folder, Hamish and Andy ate hotdogs and got on a Movie World rollercoaster, and Rove took on Larry Emdur in a sumo suit)

  12. David- how long is Paul Henry contracted for?
    If they want breakfast to succeed he needs to go and Kath Robinson should do news reports. I don’t think she is suited to the more laid back presentation style that you need for this type of show. There is absolutely no chemistry between the two of them. If they don’t fix the cast then I can assure ch10 I will never watch.

    On the other hand the late news/show is pretty enjoyable. Hermione is gorgeous and likeable and I enjoy the discussion element that standard news bulletins lack. Maybe ch10 could build a new breakfast show based on the more successful formats of project and late news.

  13. I know TEN doesn’t have the budget for it and I’m not sure if this will suit the network and its demographic, but I always thought what if TEN did a morning news show like LA’s KTLA 5? It’ll make it very different to what’s nationally available on ABC, Nine and Seven. We lack local news content and material, especially on TV. Apart from news, it’d be great to know what’s actually happening in your own town and city. ‘Breakfast’ should probably have been axed rather than ‘The Circle’, I think.

    Secondly, why don’t TEN find the time to air CBS This Morning, similar to what Seven and Nine air very early in the morning?

  14. WTF!! the circle is gone but breakfast stays? There have been so many decisions by ten that just dont make sense the past few months.

    Theyre trying to revamp the network but theyve just made it worse. I used to love ten 🙁

  16. WTF!!!!! The Circle is the best thing on TV. Breakfast is the worst show on TV and that bloke is total cr@p. The new shows are pathetic American bullsh!t. I’d rather stick pins in my eyes. No more Channel 10 for me……..

  17. I have to agree with a lot of the other comments,The Circle is a far better viewing experience then the Breakfast.
    I believe it would have offered a unique alternative to Sunrise and Nines thing in the early time slot,they are chasing their tales here maybe the Henry money is effecting someones ego enough to make the decision viable.

  19. There seems to be more people commenting here about the Circle than actually watch the program.. The Circle was axed because its ratings weren’t good enough. God knows why they kept Breakfast. However, to be fair, Ten does give its shows a chance before they are axed.-(including the Circle.)

  20. hey c’mon folks lighten up….at least Breakfast will give these cheapo US imports the lead in they deserve…..now who is gonna pay to advertise on ch10 in the morning….local dog walking service ? maybe?

  22. I have to disagree with alot of you here … I dont watch The Circle that often, but I thought the show went down in a big way after Yumi’s comment re: the Australian soldier… and it hasnt really recovered… This is just a thought and the reason why it just had to go …

  24. Axed? Really? I’m disappointed in you, Channel Ten. And to replace a good chunk of it by US imports? Boring.

    And yet, Ten leaves Breakfast. A show that rates even worse than The Circle. That doesn’t make sense at all.

    Shame! Shame! Shame!

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