Network Ten

Owned by Ten Network Holdings, whose largest shareholder is media magnate Bruce Gordon with about 15 percent. He also controls WIN Corporation, the largest regional TV network by area of any broadcaster, carrying signals from all three major metropolitan networks, and has recently raised his stake in rival Nine Network to about 15 percent.

In October 2015, Australia’s competition watchdog gave the greenlight for Foxtel (of which News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch owns half) to purchase up to 15 percent of Ten Network Holdings. Murdoch’s son Lachlan also owns 8.5 percent of Ten. Other billionaire shareholders include gaming mogul James Packer and mining magnate Gina Rinehart.

The company reported losses of AU$312 million (US$224 million) for the year ending August 31, 2015 – almost twice as big a loss as year earlier. This left the company with debts of over AU$150 million (US$108 million), and just AU$14 million in cash at hand. It was reported in October that Ten is expected to raise AU$77 million through an entitlement offer to shareholders. It will use the money to reduce debt and invest in content to continue its ratings improvement.

Network Ten includes three free-to-air television channels — TEN, ELEVEN, and ONE — in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, plus the digital platform tenplay. The third free-to-air TV network to launch in Australia (after Nine Network and Seven Network) Network Ten made its debut in 1964 in Melbourne. Affiliates extend the network to cover most of Australia. Network Ten is a backronym for "The Entertainment Network." Along with news, Ten broadcasts drama, comedies, and entertainment shows, including a number of reality programs. It focuses on people between the ages of 25 and 54 who are "young at heart," although much of its revenue for many years has come from success with younger demographics, e.g. via endless reruns of ‘The Simpsons’.

The co-host of Network Ten’s news and current affairs program ‘The Project’ since January 2015, Aly previously had a career in law. Prior to joining Network Ten, he was host of ABC’s ‘Big Ideas’ debate program and frequently hosted ABC News Breakfast and 774 ABC Melbourne Mornings. Aly is a lecturer in politics at Monash University and his debut book, ‘People Like Us: How arrogance is dividing Islam and the West’ was shortlisted for several awards. He won the 2014 Walkley Award for best columnist.

A Sunni Muslim, Aly has served as head of public affairs for the Islamic Council of Victoria, during which he was regularly interviewed on current affairs and news programs. He also hosts ‘The Minefield’ on Radio National and appears in such newspapers as the Australian, the Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age.

Aly sparked controversy in May 2015 when commenting on a segment aired by ‘The Project’ which reported on a gym in Caulfield, Melbourne, that offers counter-terrorism combat technique training by a former Israeli soldier. The Jewish owner of the gym demanded an apology from Aly, who had said: "If I rocked up with my mates Mustafa and Hamoudi, do you reckon they’d let us train?" Aly later argued his question "was about the suspicion that generally surrounds Muslims, which would no doubt be heightened in the context of military training"

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Controversial conservative columnist Andrew Bolt called Aly a "model moderate Muslim" and "the most influential Islamic apologist" in Australia. Bolt also alleged that Aly "does not openly support jihadism, of course, but does attack its critics and rationalize or willfully overlook some of its excesses." After Bolt hit out at Aly over his seeming reluctance to use the words "Muslim" or "Islamic" with regard to Nigeria’s notorious Boko Haram militants, Aly was defended by Scott Stephens, editor of the ABC’s Religion and Ethics website, who called Bolt’s comment a "display of madness."

In September 2015, social media users gave a mixed response to Aly’s fiery interview with former terror suspect Zaky Mallah on ‘The Project.’ Some were impressed by Aly’s strong stance, while others were angry over the program having Mallah on air at all.

Co-host of ‘The Project’ alongside Waleed Aly, Bickmore has presented the program since 2009. Bickmore began her journalism career in radio, as a fill-in newsreader for a local station in Perth. She made her television debut in 2006 on the variety show Rove Live. Bickmore is an Australian ambassador for UNICEF. She won the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television and a Logie for Most Popular Presenter in 2015.

In September, Bickmore broke down on air when discussing the photo of Aylan Kurdi, a toddler whose body was found washed up on a Turkish beach amid Europe’s refugee crisis. She said the photo made her realize how "lucky" she was that she and her children live in Australia.

Host of the Sunday morning political discussion show ‘The Bolt Report’ on Network Ten, the commentator is known for his conservative rhetoric, but rejects the term "right-wing." He is a columnist for News Corp Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper, and his pieces also run in the Daily Telegraph and the Advertiser. He is known as a staunch supporter of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and was recently mocked for an article which stated that the loss of Abbott as prime minister was a "time of sorrow." No stranger to controversy, the content of some of Bolt’s articles has led to lawsuits.

For more on Bolt, visit the News Corp Australia section of RT’s MSM coverage.

The Australian Media and Telecommunications Authority (ACMA) found in 2005 that Network Ten had breached the industry code of practice with its ‘Big Brother Uncut’ program, following viewer complaints about sexual activity, nudity and foul language.

A subsequent incident of alleged sexual assault in the ‘Big Brother’ house led to a public outcry calling for the program to be canceled. The incident prompted numerous politicians, including then-Prime Minister John Howard, to call for the program to be scrapped. Howard said the "stupid program" should be "taken off the air," adding that it was a chance for Ten to "do a bit of self-regulation."

Network Ten’s ‘The Project’ has faced controversy for the views of regular panelist Steve Price. In August, Price clashed with host Waleed Aly over proposed legislation aimed at making it harder for third party groups to protest mining projects, with Price telling Aly that he should "go and build a few windmills."

In July, co-host Carrie Bickmore took offense to Price’s views against breastfeeding, after he complained about a woman feeding her child while walking through an airport. "We feed where we want to, not where you want us to," Bickmore told Price.

In May, Price slammed the idea of installing a bike lane at Sydney Airport, saying that "people that ride bikes can barely afford to fly anyway, so they’d all be on [budget airline] Tigerair, and Tigerair doesn’t let you carry bags on the plane." Price was criticized on Twitter following the comments, with critics calling him "out of touch."

Dear Steve Price. We ride & can afford to fly. We also ride to airports. Plus, I'm not a local pissant out of touch radio host. On ya bike

— Mark Textor (@AGFchairman) May 20, 2015

Co-host of morning show ‘The Circle’ Yumi Stynes found herself in hot water in 2012. Commenting on a photo of Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross and Medal for Gallantry recipient, taken in a swimming pool, she said he was "going to dive down to the bottom of the pool to see if his brain is there." Guest co-host George Negus responded: "...what if they’re not up to it in the sack?"

Stynes later said she did not know much about Roberts-Smith at the time.

The comments caused an angry uproar. Both Stynes and Negus were forced to publicly apologize. The network also posted an apology to the show’s Facebook page.

A number of companies pulled their sponsorship of the show because of the comments. Network Ten resisted calls to fire Stynes. However, Telstra communications company dropped Negus as an event host because of his remarks.

Just ahead of the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Network Ten broadcast a documentary titled ‘911: In Plane Site,’ which examined conspiracy theories surrounding the terror attacks. Federal Labor politician Michael Danby called for the programming director of the station to be fired. Network Ten was unapologetic, saying that "people should be able to make up their own minds" about the program, adding that it "merely questioned what people were told by the government and the media."

In October 2008, Network Ten was found guilty of breaching the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, after it used subliminal advertising during the broadcast of the 2007 ARIA Music Awards. It was revealed on ABC’s Media Watch program that the network had inserted into the program broadcast single frames of sponsored brands including Chupa Chups, Big W, Olay, Telstra Bigpond, KFC and Toyota. Network Ten argued that the quick flashes were intended to be consistent with the fast-paced look and feel of the music presentations. The broadcaster wasn’t penalized by the authority.