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Airdate: Cats Make You Laugh Out Loud

If Free to Air TV is now resorting to internet cats in primetime then Houston we have a problem...

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I’m tempted to say TV is officially out of ideas, but the truth is it’s screened dodgy stuff in the past and it will again.

Next week Seven is airing a primetime special Cats Make You Laugh Out Loud which is a Channel 5 show narrated by comic Iain Lee.

Concerningly, it will air at 7:30pm next Tuesday -which shows just how madly the network is pedalling over the failure of Restaurant Revolution.

If the title didn’t give away what this is all about, try this: The web and our furry friends go hand in hand like nothing else. This show celebrates the amazing wealth of talented, funny and at times weird animals (and their owners) to be found on the internet.

But if Free To Air TV is now resorting to internet cats in primetime then it kinda deserves all those newspaper articles about its demise.

This is a bad look for the sector, and I wouldn’t be surprised if these kittens get yanked before becoming a running joke for months to come (by journos, by rivals, by Pay TV, advertisers at the Upfronts, and by viewers ad infinitum).

Oh and here’s the ultimate irony:

The entire special is already available for free on the internet right now.

Which is where it belongs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS4ZdsZ67zg

33 Responses

  1. Doesn’t look like it’s on YouTube anymore…
    “Cats Make You Laugh Out Lou…” This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by ‘Passion Distribution Limited. ‘

  3. I’d much rather watch a special on cats than a channel 7 reality show…but I love cats, so I will have to try and remeber it’s on, as I am rearly in the vacinity of 7 these days.

  4. There’s a really good show that’s never made it to TV here but would be far more interesting – it’s called “Hit Record” (only did one series unfortunately) and was hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock From the Sun) – basically it was a collaboration of people making videos – very interactive, and far less pussy cats.

      1. Absolutely agree it is a depressing non LOL joke. Perhaps the only people who don’t agree are the fat cats at Seven, which goes some way to explaining the mess they are in

  6. Oh dear, I just spent 45 happy minutes watching that show on news.com.au
    And what’s more I really enjoyed it!
    (Note to other cat lovers, there are no ad breaks on the internet version – it will probably run for 60 minutes on 7, and be cut to fit in all the ads.)

  8. Probably about as good as Dr Harry’s Weird House Calls of what ever it was called last night. That must have been a massive ratings flop in Tuesday night prime time. These should be on 7two on Saturday afternoons. I’m allergic to cats…

  9. I think this is what you would call rock bottom. Bet they wish they didn’t air the new Anh Does specials a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps they could air repeats of his Britain specials. Anything would be better than this utter shit.

  10. I don’t see how this is any different to Australia’s “Funniest” Home Videos, which has been running for over 25 years and to this day still screens VHS and Hi8 tapes from the 80s and early 90s (much of which is probably recycled from past episodes, as pointed out by David in an editorial some time ago). In an age of smart phones and digital cameras (with even the lowest end models being capable of 720p resolution nowadays), you’d think that they’d be able to source some decent quality home video footage by now, even if they deliberately downscale it to VHS to replicate that “home video” feel.

    I think there is an audience for an internet video package programme on television (even if it’s cheap late-night filler), but I think that such programming should offer something just a little more substantial than kids falling off swings and brides falling into wedding cakes.

  14. it’s no worse than 9 programming big bang theory everytime theres a gap to fill on 9 and GO. I guess they don’t want to start any new series as theres been no advance publicity so they are scrambling for specials. they have plenty of things on their 7 plus catchup service that hasn’t aired. I know its not the ABC but they could have picked something a bit more highbrow .

  16. What I get angry about is online media and shows like sunrise that steal you tube videos and stick them on their sites for their own financial gain through ads. Studio 10 with their what in the weird segment stealing you tube videos as well. Its just wrong.I hope this show at least paid the originating video producers.

  18. Mind you – not much better on Nine some nights – some show about calories tonight? So many great international dramas around yet free to air is going for the bottom end all the time.

  19. Its the kind of thing I watch with my kids on YouTube on a weekend afternoon – certainly not at 7.30pm on a weeknight.

    If this gets any more than 500,000 viewers – it will only be because people either can’t find their remote or don’t have an internet connection to watch this sort of stuff on the internet. (and I would further suggest a complete review of the OzTam panel!).

  20. Seven is scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one. What the hell? Whoever decided this is getting to air needs sacking. It reminds me of the 2004 era of Channel 7 where anything goes. Surely they’ve got something better than this.

  23. I’m as cynical as you about this but I reckon it will prob rate pretty well. It won’t do any worse than Restaurant Revolution so Seven will be in front there.

    Next can we have a show with children falling off skateboards and riding bmx’s into ditches, please? And then one with collected amateur quadcopter footage? Ooh, and Russian dash-cam accidents?

  24. I’m not surprised at this programming decision. 7 has no idea how to program 7.30pm unless its reality or extra unwanted eps of home and away. Its decisions like this that leaves viewers looking for alternative entertainment options to free to air.

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