Channel Ten‘s new program 10 News+ has been savaged in the ratings following its Monday night premiere.

The current affairs program, slotted in to replace The Project after it was sensationally axed after 16 years, was watched by a paltry 291,000 people, according to overnight ratings released by OzTAM.

Channel Nine and Channel Seven dominated the timeslot, with 7News attracting 1.5million viewers, and 9News following closely with 1.45million viewers.

The first night figures have shocked industry insiders, after the show heavily promoted its investigation into Australian mother Debbie Voulgaris, who has been jailed for 16 years after smuggling 7kg of drugs into Taiwan.

Meanwhile, a very healthy 478,000 viewers tuned in last Friday to watch The Project’s emotional finale.

Channel Ten’s new program 10 News+ has been savaged in the ratings following its Monday night premiere

It’s not good news for the program hosted by former Channel Seven reporters Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace. Both pictured

It’s not good news for the program hosted by former Channel Seven reporters Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace after KIIS FM radio host Kyle Sandilands, 54, slammed the first episode, claiming it was difficult to watch.

‘Being a Channel Seven network employee, I still committed to watch 7News but I recorded 10News+ and went back to watch it,’ he explained on his radio show on Tuesday.

‘I know it was the first episode and it’s tough to critique the first, but it was weird. It was like ABC TV had sex with Ron Burgundy and that’s what came out.’

Kyle said the news series didn’t air ‘one story I cared about.’

‘They are nice folks at Channel 10, but they want to be this high and mighty. I wanted to give it a go, but I felt like it missed the mark,’ he continued.

His co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson defended the series and insisted viewers should ‘give it a chance’.

‘I bet if you listened to the first show of you and [me], it would have been sh*t. You need to give things a chance,’ she said.

The show also received mixed reviews from other viewers, with many sharing their thoughts on X.

Kyle Sandilands (pictured) slammed Channel Ten’s new current affairs program 10 News+ following its debut on Monday night

Several viewers compared 10 News+ to A Current Affair with one posting: ‘This is like ACA. Going to people’s houses to talk and them avoiding the cameras’

Several compared 10 News+ to A Current Affair with one posting: ‘This is like ACA. Going to people’s houses to talk and them avoiding the cameras.’

‘You replaced The Project with a Temu ACA not seeing @theprojecttv is incredibly depressing. 10news+ sucks!’ complained another viewer.

Someone else said: ‘This is proper @Channel7 style commercial JUNK. It’s like watching a cross between Fox News and Anchorman. Why the silly ‘news’ voices!?’

One more person tuning in at home asked: ‘Anyone else bored so far?’ while someone else said, ‘please no more long investigation reports it’s 6pm’.

‘Oh dear. I thought I would give 10 News Plus a go. I feel like we have regressed 20 years! An inauthentic painfully choreographed attempt at current affairs!’ one said.

‘Dribble. Won’t last the year’ a viewer said with another adding, ‘Felt like it was a Comedy Company parody from the 80s. The fist pump at the end? Yikes.’

Not everyone was so negative with one fan writing: ‘Loving @10NewsPlus – strong launch story. Is this the new Schapelle Corby story we all need to know about. 10 news should be very proud.’

The show’s hosts, recently poached Seven journalists Hitchcock and Brace, opened the episode by telling the audience what they can expect from the hard-hitting program.

The Project was officially axed after 16 years last week, and aired its final episode on June 27. Pictured L to R: Sam Taunton, Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, and Georgie Tunny

‘Firstly, we’re not here to tell you what to think, to scare or depress you’ Hitchcock said.

‘We will give you facts, information you can trust – the truth,’ Brace added.

‘Of course, we are a daily news program, so you won’t miss the stories that matter,’ Hitchcock went on.

‘But we are also digging deeper with investigations and original reporting you won’t see anywhere else,’ Brace said.

The first episode included an investigation on drug-smuggling Melbourne mum Debbie Voulgaris and a sit-down chat with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.