Carrie Bickmore’s radio bosses hold a crisis meeting after she promised a $30K listener prize that hadn’t been approved by management, before offering to drop the cash herself
Carrie Bickmore got a slap on the wrist from her radio bosses for promising a massive cash prize to an unauthorized listener.
The former Project host was hosting an on-air game with co-host Tommy Little on Wednesday when she decided to go off script and increase the prize money from $10,000 to a whopping $30,000.
To win, the listener had to guess the exact moment when a timer reached five seconds.
Tommy was stunned after Carrie spontaneously announced, “Since our show starts at three, I’m going to schedule it at three. Thirty thousand dollars up for grabs today… I think that’s what people want.
Tommy jokingly asked if Carrie had been “hitting the bottle” that day, before noting that his boss was “shaking his head”.
Undeterred, Carrie assured Tommy that she had spoken to his producers and agreed to cover the cost of the prize in cash if the company cannot afford to give away the full amount.
Surprisingly, the listener managed to win the game, stopping the clock at five seconds.
In a panic, Carrie gasped, ‘I didn’t tell the bosses anything! he just went rogue and said $30,000 and now I have… oh my gosh, oh my gosh.”
Carrie Bickmore (pictured with Hit Network co-host Tommy Little) got a slap on the wrist from her radio bosses for promising a huge cash prize to an unauthorized listener.
Carrie admitted that she was “terrified” at the prospect of having to shell out the prize money herself.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to foot the bill, as the Hit Network confirmed to News Corp that Carrie’s radio show covered the full amount.
It comes amid reports that Southern Cross Austereo’s profits are declining.
The former Project host was hosting an on-air game with co-host Tommy Little on Wednesday when she decided to go off script and increase the prize money from $10,000 to a whopping $30,000.
The radio network, which features the Hit Network and Triple M, grossed $260.1 million in yesterday’s figures, according to Undone.
It was a slight increase from last year which came in at $259.8 million, however EBITDA earnings fell from $48.2 million to $43.1 million.
EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation, among other deductions.
However, at the network’s heyday, EBITDA earnings in 2012 were $123 million, showing a drop of one-third over the past decade.
According to Unmade, that marks the “worst start to a financial year” for the network.
Surprisingly, the listener managed to win the game, stopping the clock at five seconds. Carrie later admitted that she was “terrified” at the prospect of having to shell out the prize money herself.