SBS TV will sustain a substantial loss after being forced to scrap the entire series of a new indigenous talent program.
I have been told by SBS insiders that the multicultural broadcaster had big plans for its own version of the popular talent spotting show The Voice that was to be screened on its NITV channel that airs content showcasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues.
“SBS struck a deal with the Seven Network which holds the Australian rights to produce the local version of The Voice that allowed it to make its own version featuring only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contestants,” an SBS insider told me.
“A key feature of the new program was the panel of celebrity judges who would listen to contestants in the program’s trademark ‘blind auditions’ where they have their backs to the stage and turn their chairs around only when they want to vote for a particular performer.
“Unfortunately SBS producers decided to choose a small panel of just four celebrities that included Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, Northern Territory LCP Senator Jacinta Price, and former Labor Party identity Warren Mundine. (main picture)
“The upshot was that while SBS went to the expense and trouble of shooting six episodes, and carried the cost of bringing dozens of contestants to Sydney for filming, not one of the judges ever turned their chair around to support any of the indigenous contestants. Not one. Ever.”
The SBS insider told me that the shows were “simply unfit for broadcast” and that SBS had binned them.
“It’s cost SBS a shitload of cash that it’ll never get back. Oh, and ‘shit’ and ‘cash’ remind me that the fourth celebrity judge was WA Senator Michaelia Cash,” the insider told me.
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