The ABC Is Axing ‘The Checkout’, A Show Which Could Only Exist On The ABC

The ABC has made the – look, we’ll be honest – quite baffling decision to axe popular consumer affairs program The Checkout, allegedly citing budgetary restraints.

The announcement was made by a spokesperson for the show – i.e. Julian Morrow, as the footnote clearly indicates – which claimed the ABC cited “budget cuts” and “the relatively high cost of production” as the reason for cutting the show.

The letter admits that the show’s cost of production is higher than your average ABC show, but says a new season of the show would cost the same or less than previous seasons – and that’s before the government’s indexation freeze rolls in come 2019.

It’s definitely an unusual decision for Aunty to make. The Checkout – with its no-holds-barred approach to ripoffs, scams and dirty advertising tactics – is the kind of show that you literally could not do on a commercial broadcaster. They have too much advertising money in the air, and couldn’t risk pissing off the big dogs. It only works on a public broadcaster – and in an era when the government is set on attacking the ABC, it seems like an odd call.

There we go folks. R.I.P. Looks like we’re going to have to do our own research on consumer protection law, like absolute schmucks.

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV