Ten Network Holdings’ acting CEO Lachlan Murdoch has slammed the company’s first-half net profit, saying it was “not acceptable” and that the company has been “under-delivering”.
“The half year results are not acceptable and immediate action is already underway to address them,” Murdoch said.
His comments come after the media company, which runs the commercial television network Ten, posted a 15.6 per cent drop ($49.5 million down from $58.7 million a year earlier) for the six months to February 28.
Murdoch said Ten Network Holdings was “at a crucial juncture in its history”.
“We have seen underperformance over the past five years with significantly deteriorating margins,” he said during the near-90 minute teleconference.
"Ten has been under-delivering and this must change.
“The half-year results required immediate action…we knew that hard decisions had to be made and they had to be made immediately."
This process began six weeks ago and will see a relaunch of ONE on May 8 due to poor ratings and a change to Ten's news structure.
ONE will now broaden its focus on the 25-54 male demographic, focusing not only on premium sport but also HD movies, documentaries and drama. It will still feature AFL, Formula One and Moto GP.
The change to ONE comes after a successful launch of ELEVEN, which targets ages 13-29.
“The difficult decisions being made, coupled with the successful launch of ELEVEN and today’s announcement of the relaunch of ONE, will position us well within our competitive set,” Murdoch said.
“I’m very excited about the changes at ONE and we’re very confident about its success.”
The Monday-Friday news bulletin will extend to 90 minutes (5pm-6.30pm), which will be immediately followed by George Negus’ current affairs program. Furthermore, production values will be improved on Negus’ show which hasn’t rated well since appearing on Ten at 6pm.
Murdoch also announced today that The Bolt Report, featuring newspaper columnist Andrew Bolt, will premiere on May 8.
New shows Renovators, Class Of… and Can Of Worms will launch later this year.