Not noice: How did ABC let Kath & Kim go?
Apr 3, 2007, 13:00

It was a coup for the Seven Network; hiring Kath and
Kim away from its commercial rivals and the ABC for a
sum not disclosed but said to be 'considerably' higher
than the $3 million mentioned in news stories on
Sunday.

For some TV viewers, especially those who are 'rusted'
on to the ABC the reports looked either like an April
Fools day joke of the highest class, or were yet
another example of the national broadcaster's finest
being lured away by the 'commercial dollar'.

In fact it would seem the joke is on the ABC, not for
losing Kath and Kim to Seven but for the still
unexplained way a 100 per cent owned in-house
production ended up in someone else’s hands for no
apparent gain to the national broadcaster, or
reasonable explanation.

It is a multi-million dollar question which is being
asked inside the ABC and needs answering.

Seven was quick to point out where the series idea
started, in the short run sketch show, Big Girls
Blouse which was a follow on from Fast Forward where
Riley and Turner (and Steve Vizard and Peter Moon and
Magda Szubanski came to prominence).

There was much talking about the 'girls coming home'.

"Channel Seven today proudly announced *KATH & KIM*
are coming home. The much-loved characters were first
born on Seven in 1994. Since then Australia’s
favourite foxy ladies have taken the world by storm.
And now the pair will return to the network where it
all began.**

"The fourth series of the hugely successful comedy
series will screen on Seven soon. It’s a welcome
return home for the show’s creators, Jane Turner and
Gina Riley, who began their commercial television
careers on Seven on the ground-breaking Fast Forward
./ /**

"Filming is currently underway in Melbourne for series
four - some of the high-profile guest stars will
include /Little// Britain's/ Matt Lucas and cricket
great Shane Warne."

Competition was intense and I think that Seven would
not have stood a chance if it hadn't been for the pick
up in its audience last year and probably the storming
start to the front part of the 2007 ratings year.

Nine and Ten had both been trying (Ten boasting of its
exposure to the younger demos) but the competition in
the end was between the ABC and Seven with Nine trying
very hard and probably offering more money in the end.

The Kath and Kim management marketed the program well
to all networks and setting up a bidding war.

Nine was trying hard at snapping them up two years
ago.

It was in there beavering away trying get its hands on
series three by hiring Rick McKenna, the executive
producer, along with wife Gina Riley and the other
star, Jane Turner. He lasted at GTV 9 in Melbourne for
less than a year where he was head of production. He
was previously at Foxtel where he was head of AFL
Operations for a while.

Seven isn't saying where Kath and Kim will go in its
rich schedule or when.

But I reckon the best bet will be Sunday evenings at
either 7.30 pm or 8.30 pm over the last seven or eight
weeks of 2007 ratings, just as Ten's Australian Idol
is gathering pace towards its finale in the last week
of ratings.

Kath and Kim not only would appeal to the 18 to 49
group that Idol is now aimed at, it would have appeal
in younger and older demographics and prove a potent
way for Seven to end the year.

It’s claimed in some of the news reports that one of
the reasons the programs switched broadcasters was to
enjoy higher audiences: well, not really.

The Kath and Kim programs topped the two million mark
on the ABC at the end of series and certainly rated as
well for the ABC as they will for Seven.

Seven's audiences will be bigger because more people
are watching the Network these days and are staying
with it.

When Seven was having a miserable time of it in 2003
and 2004 the ABC's ratings picked up: when Seven
rebounded in 2006 and last year, the ABC's audiences
fell. Analysts claim there seems to be a certain
interchangeability between the Seven and ABC TV
viewer.

But that argument is undermined by the performance so
far in the first seven weeks of official TV ratings:
Seven's audience is up, the ABC's is up a lot and Nine
is suffering.

No, I reckon the answer why Kath and Kim left the ABC
is international exposure and bigger budgets. There
were comments in the Sunday news reports that the
program's budget would now allow programs to be done
overseas in this series. That's where the commercial
network always comes to the fore, or does it?

………………………

But there are some people wondering just who were the
April Fools in the Kath and Kim saga?

There are some people at the ABC who reckon there
should be an accounting for the broadcaster's handling
of Kath and Kim and the accounting for all the
associated merchandising revenues.

The Kath and Kim series started in house at the ABC
but was then allowed to be produced by Turner and
Riley and their associates.

There are claims the ABC owned the copyright 100 per
cent and kept all income from sales less residuals.
How did the copyright move from the ABC to the
Turner/Riley cam and for how much?

The questions now being asked is how did the ABC give
away or sell (and at what price) the copyright and IP
rights over the series?

Was there any agreement on revenue splits and what
sort of agreements were there? Were they a share of
gross revenue, of profits, internet, DVD, books?

What were the carve ups on the various revenue
streams? And were there were revenue/ profit carve-ups
and what did Turner and Riley and others pay for those
and what did they agree to with the ABC for each
series?

Even if the program was brought to the ABC by
Turner/Riley the first series was produced in house so
how did the ABC protect its legal position on
copyright, or didn’t it?. And finally what did the
board agree to and what did ABC management put to the
board?

There may be perfectly reasonable answers for all of
these questions but they have to be asked and the next
Senate Estimates hearing in May is the best place that
should be done.







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