Where’s the love for Katrina & Amie?
With all 4 houses sold, is it now time for Nine to make a gesture to Katrina & Amie?
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
After all is said and done with The Block auction debacle, attention now turns to Nine to see whether it will, or should, find some cash for Katrina & Amie.
The two didn’t pocket anything from their property sale.
The other contestants all left with money: Polly & Waz $115,000, Rod & Tania $72,000, Josh & Jenna $50,000.
In an ironic twist, the house belonging to the auction winners sold for the least amount of money: $855,000.
But Nine is defending its format, pointing to the ratings results as evidence it is intact.
The contestants were each paid $700 a week, and Katrina & Amie won $10,000 for their Hot Seat win. All couples also made a television commercial, believed to net a fee under the $10,000 mark.
But fans of the show are questioning whether the television auction and the reserve-price rule is the fairest way to decide a winner. Josh and Jenna’s house sold for the most amount of money. Rod and Tania’s made the most above the reserve – a reserve that was set before the renovations began. Is that reflective of life in the real world?
Nine may need to consider some format tweaking for 2012 or risk more properties being passed in and a muddled outcome.
So do Katrina and Amie have a right to be peeved? There are plenty of Reality shows with a “winner takes all” result: Survivor, The Amazing Race, Australia’s Got Talent, The Apprentice and more. They knew the rules going into the show, they knew the inherent risks of the volatile property market. The girls even had first choice of which property they wanted to renovate.
Still, it must smart when you think last year’s winner walked away with $305,000 and the lowest placegetter pocketed $47,000.
Producer Julian Cress, who is now enjoying a post-series break, has previously said ‘Nine does not forget its friends.’
“They’re terrific women, they gave a lot and they deserve something back – and we will do all we can to ensure they get it,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald today.
Nine would be well within its rights to stick to its guns that rules are rules.
But given it is making noises that it will balance its universe, it should make a cash gesture to the sisters quick smart and not drag this thing out.
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- Tagged with Australia's Got Talent, Hot Seat, Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, The Block
39 Responses
It’s like Desl or No Deal. People in reality tv know what they sign up for. I’m sure Seven don’t compensate people that ‘win’ 50 cents.
is everyone Still talking about the block??
Don’t deserve a dime. Sure it seems unfair but unless they put the whole decision making process of the sale in the contestants hands then this will never be anything other than a tv show. If they did do that then what we would see is a completely different approach (boring tv) because the commercial realities of renovating for profit are completely different to the realities of reality tv. Once again an unrealistic depiction of the real estate, design and building industries that only frustrates those in the profession. About time this genre was rebranded whinging wannabe tv.
Allie, yes if I recall correctly it was 2 teams from Season 2 that sold at reserve (Jane & Matt and the 2 guys) and therefore got nothing. Jane & matt did however win the car so didn’t walk away totally empty handed.
While I feel for the girls, they knew the rules going into it. Like anyone who does a place up to sell…there’s no guarantees what you will be able to get when you need to sell it. I think any contestant going into should be prepared to walk about with the experience and anything on top of the is a bonus.
I have no doubt that the sisters will receive some kind of financial benefit from Channel Nine eventually, the bad publicity would be far worse for the network than coughing up a few dollars.
As for the fairness of the way the auction is conducted and how the ‘winner’ is chosen, that will probably have to be adressed before the next series, again mainly due to the backlash of viewers.
I must say I was happy to see Tania and Rod get the largest profit, mainly due to the fact that they actually did 90% of the renovating themselves. It’s supposed to be a renovating show! Waz also got in and got his hands dirty, despite having no previous renovating experience.
The sisters got me off side by constantly bitching and moaning about having to do any actual work. They showed no interest in learning any hands on skills or even having a go (I’m not a tradie!) They outsourced everything and then constantly complained about their lack of money, then when they were on the verge quitting, they miraculously won a challenge and then a room. They also incessently told us how hard it was to be away from their children. Well, I’m a Mum to a 6 year old, and I know that there is no way I could be away from her for that period of time, so I wouldn’t even entertain the idea of going on a show that would require that sort of time commitment. I’m not saying that Mum’s shouldn’t be away from their children, but it was a choice on their behalf.
Like Katrina I also have an auto-immune disease which is very negatively affected by stress. Once again for me it would not be worth the risk to my health to go on a renovating show, knowing the long hours, lack of sleep, and manual work required. There is no way she wouldn’t have known the risks and the absolute certainty that she would have a bad flare. She was obviously willing to endure the consequences, which is fine, but then don’t play the emotional card of ‘I ended up in hospital’ because of the block.
All of the couples would have known their were no guarentees of securing a large sum of money, if any, at the end of the series. While I can understand their disappoinment and frustration, as David has mentioned, their are other reality shows where unless you win, you end up with nothing.
What fool pays over reserve when they know nine have sold katrina and amie’s at that price? 3 million people knew what the asking price was after the auction. Seems nine have no choice to gift k and a something. Perhaps a weekend away in one of their newly aquired investment properties located in Richmond?
It was a competition… they lost… suck it up
Read any reality tv contract and somewhere in there it will have a clause that allows the producers to change the rules anytime for anyone for any reason so the sooner we all stop believing that an injustice has been done here under the banner of fairplay the sooner these so called competitions will actually be more transparent. The girls thought they knew what they signed on for but reality and reality tv are two completely different things.
Perhaps Nine could average out the profits from the other housees and award that as a prize for the sisters..
Bad luck!
They knew the rules going into it and signed on the dotted line.
Tuff luck, there was No gaurantee that any of them would make any money.
They got paid each and every week so it was not for nothing.
Those 2 were always complaining anf crying like liltte babies.
Who in their right mind would by any of those properties?
Poor location – factories, car parks etc
Rushed work
Work that needed to be redone as it was not done correctly the first time
Plumbing not done when the room was presented to the judges
etc etc
A fool and his money are soon parted comes to mind with these properties
dont give em a cracker…….they signed on the dotted line knowing…..
as a gesture, the sisters will be regulars on the Today show and will have their own renovation show, yay!!
I may be being too simplistic about this, but look back to Season Two of The Block, the one Dr Andrew Rochford won, I am absolutely certain at least one of the units made no money for the couple renovating. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I followed that series and I’m sure someone went away empty-handed. Was that couple given a token compensation. If so, then Katrina and Amie should as well. If not, then that is the way the cookie crumbled for them on auction day.
Its called reality TV,and in reality houses get passed in at auction and or sold at reserve prices,yeah it must suck that they didnt make the money they thought they would make but I’m sure they knew the rules and risks before they entered
Did not know they got payed per week, and as stated the won 10 grand, the ad money, also they will probably make some money via magazine/current affairs interviews. So no i dont think they are owed anything, they knew it could happen when they signed up. Most reality show contestants who dont win would not get what they have got already.
Why should they get a payment? Its a game and they took the risk. Not to mention the money they made from advertising and Hot Seat.
The episode on Sunday was a fizzer, and it seemed that the people in charge didn’t know how to handle 3 of the properties not selling at auction. But of course, nothing could be wrong with the format, because 3 million people watched the debacle.
While I like and admire the sisters I am not sure if they should be compensated when all the teams went into it knowing it was a show and what the possible outcomes might be….however the auction was a nightmare and it made me cringe to watch it – surely Channel 9 has to somehow change the format for next year? If not the whole series could be like watching a slow motion train wreck about to happen as any enjoyment in watching will be tainted by the memory of this years results…
Why? I really liked the sisters and do feel sorry that they put all that effort in for little reward, but it’s part of the game. Accept it for the crazy experience that it was and move on. It is getting boring and tedious now. Like a child’s sulking act.
I’m sure that they knew the risk while signing up to the show, there is a certain Tony Abbot phrase that comes in mind…… that starts with S and ends with Happens!
On one hand, the result may mean not a lot of applicants for season 5, if they think they are unlikely to get anything out of it. On the other, if Nine forgets the rules and comes up with some cash for the sisters, future contestants may not care if they lose because they know there will be something waiting for them anyway. Although I did like K&A’s house the best and wanted them to win, I think since The Block is one of the only formats to offer everyone a chance to win big, they also have to allow K&A to not win at all.
I believe contestants in Survivor and Amazing Race get some sort of prize for runner up (today.msnbc.msn.com/id/10298817/ns/today-entertainment/t/what-do-second-place-finishers-win/).
From what I understand everyone in Survivor gets some money – amount depending on when they left the show. In Amazing race there is an undisclosed salary paid for lost time from work.
Well the 2 girls looked hot in their dresses and if I were a ch9 exec I would be more than happy to give them a little something.
This is a time when 9 need to listen to the chatter on various online forums and not just point to great ratings and think everything is ok. Many dumb tv execs have overlooked the bleedin obvious this year and it has cost them later…foresight is a wonderful thing
It wasn’t fair for them, but not sure what more can be done to get someone to buy a house. Plus it seems a bit odd that 3 houses sold after the auction.
Their weekly wage was and endorsements were pretty fair to me.
I guess in the end its the big prize that everyone wants and just relying on that money may not always be the best.