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No bingo scandal with Power contestants

There’s no chance of a repeat “scandal” with the axing of Power of Ten on Channel Nine.

A Nine spokesperson has confirmed to TV Tonight that all contestants on the game show will receive their prize money.

Last month A Current Affair aired two segments crying foul over the Seven Network not paying some of its National Bingo Night contestants. With their episodes not airing, Nine championed the cause of several angry contestants, who fell prey to a standard game show contract clause that stipulates if the episode doesn’t air prize winnings are not due. Reporter Ben McCormack even harangued Mel and Kochie outside the Sunrise studio.

So when Power of Ten was pulled yesterday by Nine, naturally one of the first questions is whether Nine will pay up.

Knowing it would be the target of a payback story, and wanting to avoid cries of hypocrisy, Nine says the contestants will all be paid. Now it is a question of when. The network will need to reschedule these eps fast to avoid dragging this out.

Spoiler: Most of the contestants on Power of Ten have walked away with paltry sums of $100 (part of the problem with the format). But it’s good news for at least one contestant in the third ep, who made it all the way to the $100,000 question. But erring on the side of caution she decided to decline the question and settled on the $10,000 cash. She should now be thanking A Current Affair. If it wasn’t for their Bingo story, she might never have wound up getting her money.

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3 Responses

  1. A Current Affair actually accomplishing something good – brings a tear to my eye!

    Actually I hope every gameshow from now on will conduct themselves this way.

    It’s only courtesy to reward winning contestants. I’m sure the production crew were all paid for their work!

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