It’s your money…

You know, I’m not opposed to the ABC spending taxpayer money on The Chaser, they’re a better outfit that 90% of what Aunty shows but $6 million dollars???

SMH today reports that THE CHASER boys are close to signing a $6million deal with the ABC that will see them return to screens next year.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/tv--radio/chaser-boys-sit-pretty-as-6m-deal-nears/2008/10/25/1224351610142.html

OK that’s alright I guess, Seven paid a license fee of $3 million to Jane Turner and Gina Riley for the rights to Kath & Kim and the Chaser is funnier than Kath & Kim, also for their $3 million Seven have only netted the reruns and 8 new episodes, that’s $375,000 per episode, a pretty reasonable license fee considering the material, especially given that some 24 reruns are thrown in as well bringing the per episode licence fee to $93,000 per half hour – an absolute bargain given reruns still command 1 million viewers per screening.

So I’m thinking alright, in 2007 The Chaser screened 24 episodes, so if this year they’re doing 24 new eps that means a license fee of $250,000 per episode, pretty darn good – but wait, read on (as no doubt you already have) and you see that they’re only committing to 10, that’s right, 10 episodes – that’s 600,000 per half hour which must make it one of the most expensive shows on Australian television, I hope ABC has some US currency stashed away so they can bring down the cost.

So lets review, your ABC has spent dollars which put commercial networks to shame on a program for which they cannot sell advertising time, nor claim the full profits from DVD sales – well done chumps!