The Bluey brand is worth big bucks but who makes the money?

The ABC missed a $1 billion payday failing to negotiate merchandising rights* with its British counterpart* the BBC for the Queensland-grown global hit Bluey.

Australia’s national public broadcaster* did not even ask Bluey’s creator Joe Brumm for a merchandising share of the brand that “will be around for 100 years”.

Outgoing ABC managing director David Anderson authorised a freedom of information* request that revealed the blunder.

A two-month search could find no documents that detailed any attempts by the ABC to sign a merchandise deal for Bluey, despite the ABC commissioning* the show.

“The ABC was unable to identify any emails between the ABC and/or Joe Brumm, and/or Ludo Studios relating to merchandising deals for Bluey, created or sent between 1 October 2016 and 1 October 2018,” an ABC response to a freedom of information request said.

Commercial smarts were much higher at the BBC, which generated $4.2 billion in commercial revenue in the latest financial year.

The BBC Studios financial report stated: “Consumer* products – particularly Bluey – were a highlight.”

Senator David Sharma has called out the ABC’s whopping Bluey bungle.

“The ABC receives over $1 billion in taxpayer funding per year,” Senator Sharma said.

“This is as much as the entire Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade receives to operate our global diplomatic* network, so it’s not a small sum.

“It is crucial … that this money is spent both wisely and efficiently.

“The ABC should also be alive to opportunities to commercialise its content, and so help defray* its costs to taxpayers.”

Children and their parents spent 43.9 billion minutes – or the equivalent of 83,523 years – watching Bluey in 2024, making it the most successful Australian show ever.

The blue heeler has become the most streamed show in the United States and was watched in 140 countries.

Bluey-themed toys and games are now available in 50 countries.

Disney announced in December that Bluey would become the first non-Disney owned brand to feature at its Disneyland theme park in California and Disney World in Florida.

Disney will also cash in with Bluey-themed cruises to run this year.

That’s ahead of the Bluey movie, written by Mr Brumm, which will “land in cinemas in 2027 under the Disney brand”.

At least some portion of the Bluey bonanza* will land in the bank account of an Australian company, with Melbourne-based manufacturer* Moose Toys signing a long-term deal to produce the show’s 338-item merchandise range.

Bunnings has meanwhile renamed six Australian stores “Hammerbarn” in reference to one episode and Bluey has also inspired a theme park in the UK.

Bluey merchandise includes plush toys, figurines, scooters, money boxes, bath toys, shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste, toddler beds, life-jackets, clothes and books.

The ABC had the chance to bid for the rights for the show it “jointly commissioned with the BBC” but only the BBC makes money from merchandise.

Mr Anderson has acknowledged that he was at the meeting when Bluey was first pitched to the ABC.

“I remember sitting there with the head of children’s (programming),” the outgoing managing director said during an ABC radio interview.

“I was advised that we thought it would work. We thought it would bring joy to people. Who knew it was a unicorn* from that moment?”

But savvy* BBC executives saw a hit in the making and invested in the series.

“Bluey is perennial*, she’s always six years old,” said marketing expert Mark Ritson, amid estimates the brand could be worth $1 billion. “There’s going to be a new generation of kids, a new audience who want the toys and the T-shirts. It’s ironic* that Bluey is created by the ABC in partnership with the BBC but the ABC gets nothing out of it.”

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GLOSSARY

• merchandising rights: a legal agreement gives another party the right to manufacture, sell and distribute goods based on copyrighted work, like a TV show and its characters
• counterpart: person or thing with the same position or purpose as another person or thing in a different place or organisation
• public broadcaster: a taxpayer funded media organisation broadcasting TV and radio programs that provide information, advice or entertainment to the public without trying to make a profit
• freedom of information: the right of the Australian public to access information held by Australian Government ministers and Australian Government agencies including the ABC
• commissioning: authorising or ordering the production of something, like a TV show or film
• consumer: someone who buys goods and services for their own use
• diplomatic: relating to diplomacy and the work of maintaining good relations Australia and other countries
• defray: pay for, cover the cost, provide funds to meet the expense of something
• bonanza: sudden, unexpected source of great wealth and good fortune
• manufacturer: a company that produces goods for sale in large numbers
• a unicorn: in a business or profit sense, unicorns products or services that have a large, rapidly growing customer base; a unicorn company is a start-up that reaches a valuation of $1 billion without being listed on the stock market
• savvy: having shrewd or smart practical knowledge about something
• perennial: lasting a very long time, being always in season
• ironic: odd or humorous because something has a different or opposite result from what is expected

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QUICK QUIZ

1. How much taxpayer funding does the ABC receive each year?
2. How much revenue did the UK’s BBC generate in the last financial year?
3. Disney also expects to profit from Bluey – what are the three Disney projects?
4. Children and parents watched how many minutes of Bluey in 2024?
5. How many items are in the show’s merchandising range and which Australian company has signed a deal to make them?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Bluey mania
What is it about the TV series Bluey that is so relatable to kids and adults around the world?

Some of the humour and topics are very Australian-themed – why do you think the rest of the world loves it as much as we do here in Australia?

If you had one chance to sell one piece of merchandise related to Bluey, and you got to keep the profits, what would it be? Sketch your merch idea below.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
What should the ABC have done to secure its rights to Bluey when it first commissioned the show?

What might ABC executives have learned from this blunder?

Time: allow 5 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
I spy nouns
Nouns are places, names (of people and objects), and time (months or days of the week).

How many nouns can you find in the article?

Can you sort them into places, names and time?

Pick three nouns and add an adjective (describing word) to the nouns.