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Or switch to Kerri-Anne and the babushka

Ooops. It's another Freeview prank, this time without anybody even trying.

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babushkaOoops. Looks like the new Switch to Digital campaign has been pranked already. And this time without anybody even trying.

In a four minute clip on an ABC website there are big-sell speeches from Senator Stephen Conroy, ABC’s Mark Scott and an ITV spokesperson Carolyn Fairbairn who says the UK switch to Freeview was a warm and fuzzy experience (I may be paraphrasing of course!).

It also features lots of sexy imagery to tantalise us with walls of colourful TV shows.

But in the Freeview footage that accompanies Ms. Fairbairn’s commentary is an edited clip from the now-infamous YouTube parody.

Yup. There’s Kerri-Anne Kennerley and an old Russian babushka with the phrase “9HD” beside her. This was part of the parody put together by Dan Ilic which became a YouTube sensation in Australia.

The clip in question is part of ABC News and can be seen here at around 2.10 mins.

9 Responses

  1. Yeah it’s great for them to get someone from the UK telling us how good their Freeview is because it just highlights how lame our Freeview is…

    40 Channels? Yeah we’re going to be lucky to get 10 channels… and that’s only in the metros

    Love the Kerri-Anne parody making it in though…!!! Bloody funny…!!

  2. Oh Dear! That is hilarious! I did get an email request yesterday from someone in ABC who was after a Hi-Res version of the Ad..

    Someone at the ABC Newsroom has a great sense of humor!

    Funny stuff…

    (For more poking fun at the media, come and see my shows Beaconsfield: The Musical and Massage My Medium at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

  4. listening to the uk experience of freeview you’d think it was the best thing to come to tvs since colour.
    Yet, with Freeview AU is not in it for the viewers, they’re only interested in tricking viewers into using pvrs that they have tight control over.

  6. I like how she mentioned that 40 channels is not a huge amount [compared to 200+] and that it was very manageable……

    As much as I would like that – never will happen in Oz

  7. I’m guessing someone from the ABC was looking for Freeview footage for their story on Youtube and downloaded the footage without realising it was a parody. An interesting sighting. But it was pointless for the ABC to talk to someone about Freeview in the UK when UK viewers pay fees annually which go towards television content.

  8. great job by the fact checkers/video rights sourcers…not! hilarious.

    why in the hell are they still selling analogue tvs? forget the labels, just take all analogue products out of the market. they claim people understand the difference but who in their right mind would deliberately buy a tv that is going to be useless in a few years, yes you can use a set top box but that is annoying and cumbersome in my opinion. fine if people don’t want to buy a new tv but if you are in the market for one and forking out thousands of dollars, of course you would want one to last more than a couple of years. perhaps if you are getting the analogue tvs for an extremely low price but the retailers aren’t doing that are they, they will trick people where ever they can just to make a buck, i still think retailers should be held responsible for misleading regional people that they could get 10HD or ONE with a product bought from that store when it is not even broadcast to that area, but if they fess up they lose the sale so instead they breach the trade practices act and lie to customers.

  9. LOL

    Freeview here in the UK has been very successful. I don’t know anyone who still watches analogue. The switchover in my region isn’t until 2012 though.

    Going by your articles on this website David, freeview in Australia is an absolute shambles.

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