Why Bluey’s big bucks are going overseas instead of staying in Oz

It was the deal of a lifetime that never happened for our national public broadcaster the ABC.

While homegrown hit Bluey has become a global TV sensation, Australia has been left the poor cousin, with British sister broadcaster the BBC making billions each year off the show’s popularity.

Why isn’t the ABC making money from one of its most popular international hits? Let’s take a look at Bluey’s rise to fame, as well as the deal that costs Australia billions each year in lost revenue*.

WHEN BLUEY WAS BORN
Bluey was co-commissioned* by the ABC and its British public service equivalent the BBC in 2017. The ABC paid the majority of funding in exchange for broadcasting rights here in Australia, while the BBC paid 30 per cent of production costs and scored global distribution and commercial rights*.

The beloved cartoon about a Blue Heeler puppy has since become essential viewing for children and parents across 140 countries, including the United States, where it is the most-streamed show. Americans tuned in to watch 45.2 billion minutes of it last year.

Its popularity has helped to sell Bluey-related products, such as toys, books and clothes, which the BBC also makes money from.

HOW THE ABC BLEW IT
ABC has since come under scrutiny* for signing off on the deal that handed overseas rights to the BBC, despite the show being created by Australian animator Joe Brumm and produced by the Brisbane-based Ludo Studio.

“The merchandise* deal alone is worth billions, and Australia makes zero dollars from it,” said entrepreneur Charlie Gearside, who sold his start-up Eucalyptus in February for $A1.6 billion.

In a video shared to social media this week, Mr Gearside said the arrangement was one of the worst deals struck in history.

The entrepreneur said every time he watched Bluey with his young son, “all I can think about is the jobs and the wage growth that we left on the table, in a room in ABC headquarters in Ultimo”.

He estimated Bluey could be bringing in as much as $A2.5 billion for the BBC each year — more than double the ABC’s annual budget.

A freedom of information* request has also found the ABC didn’t try to negotiate a merchandise deal at the time the show was being commissioned.

LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUSTRALIA
Mr Gearside said there were other examples of Australian inventions, such as solar panels, that were commercialised* overseas.

“We invent world-class stuff here in Australia and then we hand the value to someone else,” he said.

Fresh Economic Thinking chief economist Cameron Murray said that Bluey royalties* could have “funded the ABC twice over”.

“Instead, we just gave them away to the BBC in a dud deal. Now the BBC is rolling in cash,” he said.

HOW MUCH DOES THE BBC MAKE FROM BLUEY?
Bluey royalties and merchandise – everything from plush toys to pool floats – are sold in 50 countries and have become a major source of revenue for the BBC’s commercial arm, which raked in a record £2.2 billion in the 2024/25 financial year*, or around $A4.1 billion.

That cash is expected to keep flowing as the brand expands, with a CGI* feature film expected to be released globally in 2027.

Though the BBC hasn’t said how much money it makes from Bluey, an executive has described the show as a “really, really big chunk” of global retail sales.

A conservative estimate* attributing 25 per cent of last year’s sales to Bluey suggests the brand makes about $A1 billion per year — but it could be much more than that.

For context, the ABC receives $A1.2 billion in funding from the federal government each year.

HOW DID BLUEY GET SO BIG?
Professor Gary Mortimer, an expert in retail marketing and consumer behaviour at QUT Business School, said it was unclear how or why the Bluey brand had become so popular.

“It could be because it’s been driven by a childhood audience, and that childhood audience may have been looking for something new,” Prof Mortimer said.

“I guess it was just an oversight*,” he said of the ABC’s failure to strike any merchandising* agreement.

ABC managing director Hugh Marks has talked openly about regrets over the loss of revenue from Bluey.

“We’ve spoken a lot about Bluey since I arrived (at the ABC), and we can all look back as to what happened in that particular situation,” Mr Marks told the Screen Forever conference this week, according to industry website Mumbrella.

“There are always reasons why things happen. But that’s probably $300 million of income that’s going to the UK. If it was coming to Australia, (it) actually would change a lot of the people’s lives in this room.”

An ABC spokesman said when the broadcaster co-commissioned Bluey, the “focus for the ABC was acquiring* rights for Australian audiences as cost effectively* as possible and with minimal risk”.

“With hindsight, a different commercial decision would have been made,” the spokesman said.

“Bluey is an integral* and much-loved ABC program for our audiences, especially children.”

POLL

GLOSSARY

• revenue: the total amount a business receives through the sale of goods and services before any expenses are subtracted
• co-commissioned: when two businesses or organisations jointly authorise, fund, and oversee a project
• commercial rights: the exclusive right to make money from Bluey content in the form of products that use Bluey characters, stories and themes in their content and/or packaging
• scrutiny: detailed investigation
• merchandise: Bluey products for sale
• freedom of information: a formal, legal process that enables people to request access to records and documents from government agencies
• commercialised: turned into a product that can make money for the person who holds commercial rights to it
• royalties: money paid to the BBC by companies using Bluey trademarked images and content
• financial year: the 12 months spanning 1st July to 30 June is known as the financial year, as this is the span of time during which incomes are assessed for tax purposes
• CGI: computer generated imagery, films where the animation is not hand drawn but is generated using computer software
• conservative estimate: a cautious estimate, likely to be lower than the real amount
• oversight: a mistake causes by carelessness or not thinking something through enough
• merchandising: a merchandising agreement is a legal contract where the owner of a brand or content, like Bluey, agrees to let another company create and sell branded products in exchange for royalties
• acquiring: gaining ownership
• cost effectively: spending as little money as possible
• integral: very important

EXTRA READING
One billion dollar Bluey bungle
Bluey becomes top dog of US TV
How the ‘Bluey effect’ benefits kids

QUICK QUIZ
1. What was the arrangement made between the ABC and the BBC in 2017 when they co-commissioned Bluey?
2. Bluey has become essential viewing in how many countries across the world?
3. How much has the ABC missed out on each year as a result of its deal with the BBC, according to entrepreneur Charlie Gearside?
4. How much does the ABC receive in funding each year from the Australian Government?
5. When is the Bluey feature film expected to be released?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What do you think?
Why do you think Bluey is so popular around the world? Write a list of specific reasons.

Time: Spend at least 10 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
Do you think that it is fair to criticise the ABC for making this deal – before Bluey was made? Write paragraphs explaining your opinion on this question. Use information from the story and your own ideas.

Time: Spend at least 25 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English

VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.

Think about:

• What is the main topic or idea?
• What is an important or interesting fact?
• Who was involved (people or places)?

Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.