Is Q+A facing the axe? Troubled ABC flagship will return in 2024 but with a reduced amount of episodes
ABC's troubled flagship Q+A appears to have just escaped the ax, despite declining ratings.
The once-popular panel show will return in 2024 with a shortened season of just 24 episodes – reduced from 40.
A staff email was leaked to the Financial Overview On Wednesday it was announced that the national broadcaster plans to broadcast the controversial talk program in four periods of six weeks.
Meanwhile, Radio National presenter Patricia Karvalas has been announced as host for the new season, which starts on Monday, February 19.
The show will end after March 25, before returning for three more six-week slots: April 29 to June 3, then August 12 to September 16, and finally October 21 to November 25.
Problematic ABC panel show Q+A returns to screens with new host Patricia Karvalas – pictured – but with a reduced number of episodes from 40 – reduced to 24
A staff email leaked to the Financial Review on Wednesday revealed that the national broadcaster plans to run the controversial chat show in four six-week periods from Monday, February 19.
The show will end after March 25, before returning for three more six-week sessions: April 29 to June 3, then August 12 to September 16, and finally October 21 to November 25. Pictured: Former Q+A presenter Stan Grant who resigned in May
Karvelas takes over the top spot after a tumultuous year for the program, which saw Stan Grant resign and viewership declines.
Once seen as setting the news agenda with its hard-hitting discussions of current affairs, the show has struggled to stay afloat amid a revolving door of presenters and changing time slots over the past two years.
According to the OzTam ratings, one episode last year scored 194,000 viewers in the five major cities.
Q+A, a former ratings winner for the public broadcaster, started hemorrhaging viewers after it moved from its original Monday timeslot to Thursdays in 2021.
One episode in March attracted just 175,000 Metro viewers. Another from the same month brought the show its lowest viewing figures ever: 168,000 in the major capitals.
From 2008, with Tony Jones as host, Q+A was a major draw for political leaders across the spectrum during its time as a ratings winner.
But viewership has declined sharply in recent years, and the show has regularly drawn criticism for its alleged left-wing bias.
Some media commentators believe that Q+A lost its edge when Jones stepped down from his long-term role as host of the show in 2015.
Once seen as setting the news agenda with its hard-hitting discussions of current affairs, the show has struggled to stay afloat amid a revolving door of presenters and changing time slots over the past two years. Pictured: David Speers as host of Q+A
Starting in 2008 with Tony Jones as presenter – pictured – Q+A was a major draw for political leaders across the spectrum during their ratings-winning stint
Radio National's Hamish Macdonald hosted from 2020 to mid-2021, and during this period Q+A lost ground with audiences.
A shift of the time slot from Monday evening to Thursday only accelerated the decline.
Despite a return to Monday evenings in early 2023, Q+A struggled to gain an audience.