Channel 10’s claims don’t stack up in game show ‘winner scandal’ cover-up

The network has gone into damage control after a former employee won $10,000 on CELEBRITY NAME GAME but what they are saying simply isn’t true.

On Monday night TV Blackbox broke an exclusive story that a recent employee of Channel 10 had won the $10,000 prize on the premiere episode of Celebrity Name Game.

Andrew Logue had worked as a guest greeter on Studio 10 for around 3 years before moving to The Living Room in around March 2018.

As we pointed out, this is a violation of the terms and conditions the network and production company FreemantleMedia have set out in black and white.

TV Blackbox wants to be clear and state on the record that Andrew Logue has done nothing wrong. We understand he told casting agents of his affiliation to the network and was told it “wasn’t an issue”.

When we approached Network 10 they, as usual, ignored our correspondence so we published the story. They had a chance to respond and challenge any of our assertions but they, as usual, did not.

Multiple media outlets have now picked up on the story and the network has been forced to respond.

They have chosen to mislead viewers with this statement to The Daily Telegraph;

“There is some misinformation circulating regarding Celebrity Name Game,” a spokesman said. “All is above board and fits with the terms and conditions of the show.”

In conversations with reporters 10 has said that because Logue was working for The Living Room he wasn’t actually an employee of 10. This statement is a little disingenuous because the WTFN production office for The Living Room is within the Channel 10 building in Pyrmont, up on level 6. Everyone who works for WTFN has Channel 10 security passes and can walk freely around the entire building.

But let’s accept this point.

There’s still the little issue of the fact Logue worked for Studio 10 until approx March 2018, well within the two year period set out in their terms and conditions.

10’s statement that “All is above board and fits with the terms and conditions of the show” is disingenuous at best and complete BS at worst. He worked at 10 within the two year period as set out in its own terms and conditions – that does not fit!

If 10 had responded to our enquiries they could have simply said “it’s just a stuff up Rob, you know how these things can happen” and the story would have lost its impact.

But they didn’t.

Instead the network made the decision to ignore us and then mislead media.

It’s time for the lies to stop.

Every time this website publishes an exclusive story the network discredit it, only for it to become fact months later, the most recent example was our exclusive story on the renewal of Dancing with the Stars.

I recently reached out to 10 to see if we could work together and form a better relationship. In my e-mail to corporate comms on 28 April I wrote;

I’m sure you’re aware of my website (and podcast) TV Blackbox.  You’re probably also aware of my history with the network.  Despite everything, I feel it’s time to move on and I hope as an influential blog that gets picked up by mainstream media weekly we can work together.

I’m asking to be added to your daily comms list so that I can include 10’s positive commentary about demos etc when I am reporting for my weekly ratings wrap or my podcast.

Without this information I will have to continue only reporting 10’s ratings from a total people perspective.

I know that I’m probably seen as the big bad monster over there, but you will find I have had plenty of positive things to say about the network.  There’s no doubt I did not like the way I was treated, but as I say, it’s time to move on.

In March we had 148,000 unique visitors to the website, which was an increase of 222% from our launch in January.  We reach many more people when our stories are picked up by The Daily Mail, New Idea, yahoo News, 9 Honey and many more on a weekly basis.  

If you are not across my weekly ratings wraps, please click here for the latest one: https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2019/4/today-beats-sunrise-week-17-ratings-wrap

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks, Rob McKnight

TV Blackbox

I never received a response.

So here’s my free bit of advice to 10: accept it when you stuff up, it happens.

I’d also suggest you stop making enemies out of everyone in the media. There will be good stories and there will be bad stories, but you pounce on journos when they write a bad story and take away access or black ban them. It puts them offside and it becomes almost impossible for you to get a positive message out there.

Think smarter. Be Better. Stop lying.