Dave Hughes has confirmed that The Masked Singer will not return to Channel 10 this year.
The comedian, 53, broke the news on his 2DayFM radio show on Tuesday morning.
“As far as I know, The Masked Singer will not be filming this year for Channel 10,” said Hughes, a panelist on the show.
He added that there has been no official statement from Channel 10 about the fate of the program.
“We’ve had a great time over the years, it’s been a really fun show, a lot of great singers have performed,” Hughes added.
“It’s difficult for the production team.”
Dave Hughes (pictured) has confirmed that The Masked Singer will not return to Channel 10 this year.
“As far as I know, The Masked Singer will not be filming this year for Channel 10,” said Hughes, a panelist on the show. (LR: Chrissy Swan, Abbie Chatfield, Mel B, Hughes)
He also said he had spoken to fellow star Abbie Chatfield about the news.
The news comes just days after a report from TV tonight Revealed producers Warner Bros TV have been quietly ‘gauging rival networks’ interest’ in the series.
The sung guessing game presented by Osher Günsberg is understood as expensive to produce due to the elaborate costumes, high production quality and international talent needed to put on the show.
This, along with a difficult advertising market, has reportedly called into question the viability of the franchise for Ten.
He added that there had been no official statement from 10 about the fate of the program. Pictured is one of the show’s stars, Abbie Chatfield.
Additionally, The Bachelors and its various spin-offs, also hosted by Günsberg, have not been given dates for 2024 despite being announced at the annual Upfronts.
When contacted by Daily Mail Australia for comment, a Ten spokesperson said: “We are currently confirming our programming schedule for the second half of the year and announcements will be made soon.”
It comes after Channel 10 suffered its worst year in its ratings history in 2023, when viewers abandoned its flagship programs en masse.
According to TV Tonight, producers Warner Bros TV have been “quietly gauging interest from rival networks.” Pictured is The Masked Singer host Osher Günsberg.
Blackbox TV sector blog website reported By October, the network had endured its worst year since the OzTam ratings system began in 2001.
Viewers have gradually been tuning out Ten’s once-popular shows such as The Project, MasterChef Australia, The Masked Singer Australia and Gogglebox.
The terrible news put the beleaguered network as Australia’s fourth most popular station, far behind Seven, Nine and the ABC.
Additionally, The Bachelors and its various spin-offs, also hosted by Günsberg, have not been given dates for 2024 despite being announced at the annual Upfronts. (Pictured from left to right: Wesley Senna Cortes, Ben Waddell and Luke Bateman of The Bachelors)
A source told TV Blackbox at the time that part of the problem was that the network had constantly struggled to retain viewers.
‘Ten has no returning fans. If so, why do The Project, MasterChef, HYBPA, Gogglebox, The Masked Singer and many, many more fall year after year?
‘They don’t have sport, the Melbourne Cup is gone. They can’t launch a new program; the most recent example: Shark Tank,” they said.
