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The Block slammed for 'intrusive' letter sent to residents: 'Unreasonable'
Channel Nine's filming demand has sparked outrage.
Social media has erupted after Channel Nine’s “intrusive” demand for The Block filming was exposed. On Monday, Charming Street residents in Melbourne’s Hampton East received a letter stating that the network would be filming in the area on Saturday.
In the blanket letter, Channel Nine said they were shooting a TV commercial for this year’s season of The Block and asked everybody to keep their cars off the street. According to the letter, the network will be using vintage cars from the 1950s as part of the theming.
In addition, the letter asked specific houses to ensure their “modern cars” would not be on-site at all during the shoot, which will start at 7 am and continue for twelve hours.
“I am writing to share our plans to film the Promotion/TV Commercial on Saturday 25th March in the street. Every year we work on the TVC to reveal the street to our loyal viewers. It showcases the houses and the location. In this case we will be featuring the 1950s,” the letter said.
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“As we are dressing the street, we do request on Friday evening that you please not park on the street or in your driveways. We would like to keep modern cars out of the shots. If you need assistance to move your vehicles we can assist you in the morning.
“On Saturday morning 0700-0930 we will film on the footpath outside 35 with our camera looking towards house 24 and 22. Can house 24 kindly keep any cars off site so we don’t have a modern car in the shot, that would be greatly appreciated.”
One resident shared the letter on Facebook, saying that they had to discuss the request with a publicity representative as they didn’t want to park their car elsewhere during the day.
“We requested to put our cars further up the driveway as this request was a bit much for us!” they wrote. “It doesn’t work for us to not have the car at the house this weekend…unfortunately they didn’t consider the potential impact of people’s possible reactions.”
Others commented on the Facebook post, with one saying it was an “unreasonable” request.
“No way would I be doing what they want, the neighbours didn’t ask for The Block to be done in this street, so no way would I follow [those] rules,” another added.
“Hahaha fudge off. Scotty [Cam] sure as hell doesn't work for free and nor should you,” a third chimed in.
Reddit users call out Channel Nine's behaviour
After a copy of the letter was shared on Reddit, many called for the residents to request payment from Channel Nine.
“They are looking to make money out of residents’ street/houses without sharing proceeds with residents,” one person pointed out.
“In all seriousness, get some money out of them. Park cars on your lawn and invite someone over for a BBQ in the front yard. Maybe keep the cars up past the letterbox so it’s on your private property rather than the council’s, but still very visible…reality TV is trash. Treat them as such. Get paid,” another added.
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“I hire my 1960s car out to production and advertising companies, at rates starting at $1200 for half a day. I can’t imagine how much I could charge for the outside of a house!” a third chimed in.
“I used to work doing exactly this! For one home exterior for half a day [we paid] anywhere from $1K to $5K — assuming no alterations or set dressing and not actually setting foot on the property," another remarked.
Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Nine for comment.
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