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Eddie McGuire has broken his silence after the Footy Show was suddenly axed after 26 years.

McGuire, who was an original host of the show with Sam Newman, told Triple M's Hot Breakfast on Friday morning he was sad because 'it's the end of a run for a great show'. 

'It's gone for 26 years, when we first started the show we were told we had six weeks to make it rate and here we are 26 years later and we got 729 more episodes out of it than anybody thought,' he said.      

McGuire said the show has been a 'huge success' and he was proud of how its transformed football over the years. 

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Eddie McGuire (pictured) has broken his silence after the Footy Show was suddenly axed after 26 years

Channel Nine has cancelled The Footy Show following a dramatic drop in ratings despite their attempts to revamp the ageing format 

He commended the new hosts but admitted Nine probably could have finished up the show at the end of last year to end on a 'high note'.  

'All things must pass, 26 years it's been the longest running show in the history of sports entertainment,' McGuire said. 

'I'm not going to look back and be a nark about anything other than to say it's been the biggest influence on my life. It gave me everything I've ever had in my life.

'It gave me everything I'd ever dreamt of. I love the show. I love what it did in television and I really, really have a great affinity and great and feeling for everyone who has ever been on the show.'  

McGuire also said his former co-host, Newman, should be awarded for his efforts on the show. 

'Sam Newman should be in the TV hall of fame… there is no doubt that Sam Newman has been one of the most influential people in the history of media in this town,' he said. 

The hosts of the current and remodeled format appeared to be blindsided by the decision, telling fans 'we'll see you next week' as the show went off air for the last time. 

A dramatic drop in ratings and failed attempts to revamp the once mighty sport show have been blamed for the final siren. 

Only 53,000 viewers tuned in from Melbourne last week - a small fraction of the ratings it used to command in its heyday. 

Sports journalist Neroli Meadows was first to address the cancellation in an Instagram post shared on Thursday night, writing she was 'proud' of the show she worked on.

Sports journalist Neroli Meadows was first to address the cancellation in an Instagram post shared on Thursday night with this picture, writing she was 'proud' of the show she worked on

'Gave it a crack - loved every second,' Meadows wrote on Instagram on Thursday night

'Here's to the people behind the scenes who worked on this show every year it was on air,' Meadows wrote

'Gave it a crack - loved every second,' she wrote with pictures from the set.

'Here's to the people behind the scenes who worked on this show every year it was on air.'

'Proud of the show we created this year and proud of the people who worked on it. Fun episode to go out on!'

On Friday morning, Anthony Lehmann took to Twitter to write he was 'bloody disappointed' about the axing. 

'I'm bloody disappointed The Footy Show has been cancelled but I'm grateful for the opportunity to host it with Nez, Fev, Dylan and Crawf and am really proud of the shows we made,' he tweeted.

'Our team were brilliant and spare a thought for the crew, some of whom had been there for 25 years!'

He also revealed that the dumped hosts made a pact before they filmed the final show. 

'We've got eyes and ears and we're not idiots, so we knew that there was potentially, a bit of heat on the show,' Lehmann told Triple M Hot Breakfast.

'We said: "If this is our last show" - and we had no idea at the time - I said: "Let's make a show that makes every single person who watches it really disappointed that it's not gonna be back next week."'

Remaining hosts Dylan Alcott, Shane Crawford and Brendan Fevola are yet to publicly comment on the cancellation. 

On Friday morning, Anthony Lehmann took to Twitter to write he was 'bloody disappointed' about the axing

While many AFL fans were not surprised the show got the sack, they wished it was given a proper send off after serving the Australian public for over two decades.

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford wrote on Twitter: 'Axing of The Footy Show. Not uncommon for onair talent to be the last to know.'

'But what a wasted opportunity to have not done one last big farewell show celebrating the history, getting former stars back, clips of the old days etc.

'Show could have gone out with a bang.'

The drastic decision brought end to 25 years of laughs and controversy that included a scandalous extramarital affair, and long-serving co-host Sam Newman doing black face and exposing his genitals.

Nine's Melbourne managing director, Matt Scriven, delivered the news on Thursday night.

While many AFL fans were not surprised the show got the sack, they wished it was given a proper send off after serving the Australian public for over two decades

'I want to thank the current hosts, Anthony Lehmann, Neroli Meadows, Dylan Alcott, Brendan Fevola and Shane Crawford, the former hosts of The Footy Show, and the hard-working crew for their great contribution,' he said in a statement.

'It is with regret that The Footy Show will no longer be produced. It has been a tough decision to end the program that has been such a trailblazer, but sadly the new show has not captured audiences in the way we had hoped.

Since its debut in 1994, the show has survived a succession of controversies and changes in hosting.

Written off before it started by skeptics who said you could not make an AFL program work in prime time, particularly without any access to game footage, the show soon came to dominate the ratings in Melbourne and Sydney.

Original hosts Eddie McGuire and Sam Newman weaved together breaking football news and exclusive interviews with knockabout humour and Newman's headline-making stunts. 

Lyon (second right with ex-wife Melissa) was forced out of the public eye early in 2016 after it was revealed he had an affair with Nicky Brownless (second left), wife of fellow presenter and best mate Billy (left)

When McGuire left, the Footy Show continued to perform strongly under new co-hosts Garry Lyon and James Brayshaw.

The beginning of the end came with the shocking news that Lyon had begun an affair with Nikki Brownless, the wife of his close mate and Footy Show regular Billy Brownless.

Lyon immediately quit the show, and soon after Brayshaw left - later joining Channel Seven as the host of its cricket coverage. 

'I couldn't believe it. I found out three or four months ago. I asked Garry and Nicky earlier on what is going on and they said they were just good friends. That's what hurts the most,' Brownless told the Footy Show (Pictured is Garry Lyon left and Billy Brownless right)

The affair was exposed in February 2016 and led to the collapse of Brownless' marriage.

Lyon, a father-of-three, remains in a relationship with Nikki but there had been no repair of his relationship with Billy, who gave a tearful interview on the show saying how the affair had destroyed his family.

'Nikki and I are together and I'm eternally grateful she was able to support me through all of this and I'd like to think there'll be no more interest,' he told SEN radio at the time. 

'I know I've caused a lot of pain for the people I've been close to, in particular my ex-wife Melissa,' Lyon said.

In 1999 Newman (pictured) appeared in blackface on the Footy Show impersonating Indigenous footballer Nicky Winmar

In 2009 he likened a Malaysian man to a monkey, saying he was 'not long out of the forest' (pictured)

In March 2016, Brownless opened up about the toll the affair had on his family, saying 'a good mate wouldn't do that' and believed the secret relationship could have been going on for up to four years.

'I couldn't believe it. I found out three or four months ago. I asked Garry and Nikki earlier on what is going on and they said they were just good friends. That's what hurts the most,' Brownless told the Footy Show.

'By law it's legal. Morally it's wrong. We all know our rights and wrong. You don't touch a man's wallet, you don't touch his wife.' 

Sam Newman once pretended to smoke a bong live on air in 2012 (pictured)

Newman was faced with backlash after presenting a mannequin on the show, claiming it was football journalist Caroline Wilson, and dressed it in lingerie

After Lyon's exit, the show tried a revamp with female co-host Rebecca Maddern, partly to try to woo back a female audience that had deteriorated with a succession of sexist controversies involving Newman. 

Newman has been on the show since its inception in 1994, working with a run of co-hosts including McGuire, Trevor Marmalade, Lyon, Brayshaw, Craig Hutchison and finally Maddern.

He left the program at the end of its 2018 season, having at one stage reportedly been the highest paid personality at Nine. 

'I've probably been the most criticised ... person in the media in Australia for probably two decades … I wouldn't have it any other way because you are what you are,' Newman said in his farewell message.

The sports program got the sack on Thursday night after only 53,000 viewers tuned in from Melbourne last week (Brendan Fevola left and James Brayshaw right)

'You have got to experience the lows in life to appreciate the highs. I am one of those people.' 

Newman had regularly been called out for offensive behaviour and comments throughout his time on the program, with the the associated controversy both attracting and repelling viewers.

In 1999, Newman appeared in blackface on the Footy Show impersonating Indigenous footballer Nicky Winmar, and a decade later in 2009 he likened a Malaysian man to a monkey, saying he was 'not long out of the forest'.

In 2010, he was criticised for disrespecting Indigenous beliefs after admitting he hit a golf ball from the summit of Uluru.

As she helped the host out of bed, he flashed his genitals to the entire audience and live viewers

In 2005, Newman downed an entire bottle of Jim Beam on live TV. He was encouraged by the audience who cheered and applauded him to continue drinking

Newman appeared in a hospital gown and exposed his backside on live TV as he prepared to be injected with botox

He pretended to smoke a bong live on air in 2012 and drank an entire 750ml bottle of Jim Beam whisky.

In the latter years of the program, Newman also used the show as a soapbox for his stridently conservative views. 

'It was an annoying, gratuitous act. Kissing your boyfriend... No heterosexual couple would do that,' he said of gay NFL player Michael Sam's display of affection after being drafted in 2014.

In a tirade against Muslims, he said: 'They don't generally nationalise, they colonise, and this has been the problem in Europe... and it is becoming a huge problem in America.'

In other noteworthy incidents he twice exposed his genitals on air, most memorably when he was 'dacked' by Crawford. 

Newman faced a backlash in 2008 when he brought a mannequin onto the show, claiming it represented football journalist Caroline Wilson, and dressed it in lingerie. 

The former Footy Show host (pictured, with Mike Sheahan and Grant Thomas) landed himself in hot water after he posted a video of himself dressed in drag

The Australian Communications and Media Authority found that Newman had breached television's code of conduct. 

Away from the Footy Show, Newman dressed in drag during his podcast earlier this year, saying he was thinking of transitioning to female so he could compete in the Olympics as a woman.

The comments were quickly condemned as 'transphobic', led by transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey saying he was an 'embarrassment and a fool'.

Aside from all the controversies and hosting issues, the key reason for the precipitous drop in ratings was the success of Channel Seven's rival Thursday night show The Front Bar.

The show, hosted by Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Andy Maher, had come to dominate the timeslot, recently getting four to five times the number of viewers.