Opening the show this morning, host Melissa Chan-Green kicked things off with a message to her colleagues at the broadcaster: “We just want to start with something a little from the heart this morning,” she said with her co-host Ryan Bridge beside her nodding.
“You may have seen the news about The Project and we just want to acknowledge this morning our colleagues there because they’re our friends too,” she said adding, “We want to send them all our support and all our love as they go through quite a challenging time.”
Bridge added: “We work really closely with our colleagues here at Three and we love them very much,” adding, “We’re thinking of them at the moment and just sending them all of our best wishes for today and for the future.”
It comes after Herald editor-at-large Shayne Currie broke the news of the shock discontinuation of the show on Thursday in his Media Insider column.
A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson confirmed: “We have commenced consultation to discontinue The Project on Three from the end of the year - our primary focus is to support our people as we work through this process.”
The show - which first hit Kiwi screens in February 2017 - staffs approximately 24 people. It is filmed in front of a live studio audience in a building near Three’s main HQ in Auckland and is based on an Australian franchise of the same name.
Originally hosted by Jesse Mulligan, Kanoa Lloyd and Josh Thomson, recent years have seen the popular 7pm news show hosted by Mulligan, Lloyd and Jeremy Corbett, with a range of other roving hosts.
Currie reported that Three is understood to pay a hefty international licensing fee for the use of The Project brand meaning a discontinuation will give the business a blank canvas to build a less expensive 7pm show.
The hosts are yet to speak out following the announcement.
By Lillie Rohan
