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Lisa Wilkinson 'takes a break' from The Project amid low ratings
Lisa Wilkinson didn't appear on The Sunday Project last night and won't be returning for three weeks with the presenter due back on the show on December 5.
The Australian revealed the news, questioning whether or not the many headlines that have come from the 61-year-old's new memoir It Wasn't Meant To Be Like This or the show's poor ratings could have been the reason for the break.
However, the publication added this was not the case, writing, "Ten sources say Wilkinson is simply on a well-earned break, before she takes the reins as The Project’s main female weekday host over the Christmas/New Year period when Carrie Bickmore is off."
One source also reportedly shared that there was "optimism" in the building that Lisa's holiday could be the circuit-breaker the show's ratings need following the media circus that surrounded her book.
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Following Lisa's last show before her holidays on Friday, The Project continued on its recent downward trajectory by recording its lowest numbers with just 178,000 capital city viewers for the 6.30pm half-hour and 253,000 viewers after 7pm.
It comes after Nine slammed Lisa for what she wrote about her sacking from the network and her falling out with former Today show co-host Karl Stefanovic.
Lisa claimed Karl earned double her salary for the same job and when she tried to negotiate for equal pay, she was sacked.
However, it has since been claimed that Lisa was earning more than Karl when they first began hosting the show in 2007.
Nine said Lisa had unreasonable expectations, while she insists she simply asked for a fairer share of the show's profits.
The numerous headlines surrounding the book and her exit from Nine, could have created a headache for Channel 10 execs, however, this has not been confirmed.
Lisa now earns a reported $1.7 million per year for her work on The Project and Sunday Project.
Her break comes after Ten was forced to hit out at rumours Lisa and co-host Carrie Bickmore may be taking pay cuts due to low ratings.
A spokesperson told the That's Entertainment podcast, "Recent media reports inferring that The Project will not be on 10 in 2022 are completely fabricated, false and misleading.
The national audience for The Project has dropped from 725,000 ten years ago to 490,000 this year.
However, it’s important to note that the TV landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade and Channel 10 isn’t the only network to experience a decrease in viewership.
The network has a decent audience on its streaming platform 10 Play, however, its overnight metro ratings are a key metric for advertisers when it comes to judging success.
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