News that Project host Waleed Aly has signed a new “seven-figure”, multi-year deal with Ten once again shines a spotlight on the sky-high salaries taken home by the show’s stars.
The Australian’s Media Diary today reports that Aly, who had previously been out of contract with Ten, has in recent weeks signed a new “seven-figure, multi-year” deal with Ten that will cement his future on The Project until at least the “mid-2020s”.
The outlet reports that Aly’s new contract includes some attractive “sweeteners” that mean he’ll continue to be seen widely outside of The Project: He’s retained the right to appear on various ABC panel shows like Insiders and Q+A, and will also be able to pursue other projects of his own at Ten.
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It’s previously been reported that Aly was earning $900,000 a year at Ten.
The Daily Telegraph reported in November last year that the show’s only original cast member, Carrie Bickmore, is believed to be earning $1.5 million per year, while Lisa Wilkinson reportedly earns $1.7m.
But in the same November report, the Telegraph claimed that Wilkinson and Bickmore were being forced to take pay cuts in an attempt to cut costs and “give the show a lifeline” as ratings faltered.
Ten dismissed the claims, labelling them “nonsense.”
The Project hosts’ salary details have been a hot topic ever since Wilkinson abruptly exited the Nine Network over a pay dispute in 2017, inking a deal with Ten the very same day.
Wilkinson later explained her departure from Nine came as she was privately battling to achieve pay parity with her Today co-host Karl Stefanovic. She wrote in her 2021 memoir that the pay gap between she and Stefanovic was “so off the charts that no-one would have believed it.”
But Wilkinson’s move to Ten threw her into a new pay gap controversy, with her huge new contract dwarfing the $500,000 a year Bickmore was rumoured to be on at the time.
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Comedian Dave Hughes even acknowledged the fascination with Project paycheques with some close-to-the-bone jokes at the 2018 Logies, addressing Wilkinson directly from the stage.
“You left for pay parity. I know you weren’t getting pay parity, were you Lisa? No. And you’re not getting pay parity at The Project either. Now you’re earning double!” he told Wilkinson, who was sat in the audience with her co-stars.
“Don’t blame me for that joke,” he continued. “Blame it on Carrie and Waleed!”
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