Ben Fordham has fiercely criticised the ABC over a deal involving the global hit children's series Bluey and the BBC, alleging that the arrangement has cost the national broadcaster billions of dollars.
The Origins of Bluey
Originally commissioned by the ABC in 2017, the animated series about a family of blue heeler dogs has become a worldwide phenomenon. However, critics now argue that the ABC made a critical error when negotiating the merchandising rights with the UK's public broadcaster.
Fordham's Outburst
'This is the story of one of the biggest stuff-ups in the history of the ABC,' the 2GB broadcaster said on his Ben Fordham Live podcast on Friday. He described it as a 'financial fail' that could have funded the entire ABC budget twice over.
'Here's what happened; the ABC commissioned Bluey, they had control, but then the BBC in London offered to pay roughly 30% of production costs, and in return, the ABC handed the BBC the total global distribution and merchandising rights,' Fordham explained. 'That's the entire commercial engine behind Bluey, and the ABC just gave it away.'
An irate Fordham stated that every time the show 'kicked a goal' internationally and every time merchandise was sold, it was the BBC that 'banked the cash'. 'The Australian taxpayer helped create Bluey by the ABC, and yet the BBC is making the money from it. It is the world's worst deal,' he added.
Expert Estimates
Fordham was responding to a claim by entrepreneur Charlie Gearside, who posted a video to YouTube estimating that Bluey could generate $2.5 billion each year for the ABC. Economist Cameron Murray shared the clip on X, commenting, '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.'
ABC Managing Director's Acknowledgment
The 'dud deal' was raised as an issue at a film and TV conference on the Gold Coast by ABC managing director Hugh Marks. '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,' he said at the Screen Producers Australia conference, according to 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.'
Bluey's Continued Success
This controversy comes after Bluey once again triumphed in the US ratings, becoming the most-streamed show in America in 2025. Fans logged onto Disney+ to consume 45.2 billion minutes of the show over the past year, though this was down from 55.65 billion minutes the previous year. Viewers can binge all 154 10-minute episodes of Bluey on Disney's platform. Meanwhile, BBC Studios and The Walt Disney Company are currently producing Bluey's first-ever animated feature film for release in 2027.
