Cleo Smith Documentary: According to reports, Cleo Smith’s parents accepted $2 million for an exclusive tell-all interview with Nine Network and associated publications. An unprecedented sum has been offered by a television network to gain exclusive rights for an interview with Cleo Smith’s parents after her disappearance shocked the nation and made headlines around the world.
When Cleo Smith’s mother, Ellie Smith, was offered $2 million by the Nine Network to tell the terrifying story of her daughter’s disappearance from a tent while on vacation, Ellie Smith and her partner, Jake Gliddon, reportedly accepted. ABC News/James Carmody has provided this image for your viewing pleasure. One of the most talked-about stories of 2021 was snatched up by Nine, a major TV network, ahead of its competitors. Spotlight on Channel Seven was willing to spend a lot of money, but they came up short. It’s one of the most lucrative offers in television journalism history, surpassing the $1 million Nine paid Brant Webb and Todd Russell, two survivors of the Beaconsfield mine tragedy, for a television interview.
Millions of dollars have been spent by a television network to gain an interview with Cleo Smith’s parents in which they will tell the story of how their daughter was kidnapped and not discovered for nearly three weeks. As reported by the Nine Network, parents Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon accepted a $2 million check in exchange for sharing their experience in trying to locate their missing four-year-old son for 18 terrible days. The interviews with the family will air on all of Nine’s networks, and there have been rumblings of a six-part special for Stan, the network’s streaming service. Cleo is expected to accompany her mother and stepfather in the filming process, according to The Australian.
Compensated ($250,000) 60 Minutes Interview
Having been wrongly accused of the murder of her daughter Azaria and imprisoned for three years, Lindy Chamberlain was compensated $250,000 by 60 Minutes in 1985 for an exclusive interview. One-fourth of 60 Minutes’ annual budget is apparently reserved for interviews and travel to filming places, according to Nine’s current $2 million arrangement. Terence Kelly, the man accused of kidnapping Cleo, has yet to appear in court, although he is scheduled to return on January 24 for additional legal counsel before the hearing. In the early hours of Saturday, October 16, 2021, Cleo vanished from the Blowholes campground Macleod, located north of Carnarvon, in Western Australia.
Detectives, police commissioners, and WA Premier Mark McGowan all made public requests for information, CCTV evidence, or dashcam video from the night of the disappearance. A group of ten experts spent two weeks investigating the case that made national and international headlines by utilizing “different types” of technology, such as phones and social media. Hundreds of police officers, firefighters, SES volunteers, and members of the public were involved in a nearly three-week search. Calls to the anonymous Crime Stoppers tip line were deluged with crucial information and eyewitness reports. A police raid in Carnarvon led to the discovery of Cleo huddled in a bedroom after a team of detectives burst in.
The WA Police Force has published a video showing the moment she was rescued in the middle of the night and answered with the memorable line: “My name is Cleo”. As a result of eyewitness accounts and other crucial CCTV videos, Kelly was named as a suspect by the authorities. A team of four police officers stormed into his Tonkin Crescent home at 12:46 am on November 3 after he was arrested less than an hour earlier. Several charges were brought against the 36-year-old, including forceful abduction of a minor. He is not related to Cleo’s family, according to the police. Kelly’s bail was rejected and he will stay in custody until his next court appearance on Monday.
60 Minutes exposes Nine’s $2 million interview blunder
60 Minutes exposes Nine’s $2 million TV interview blunder. Cleo Smith’s interview was just the FOURTH highest rating show of the night — despite hefty payment to her mum and dad This interview with Cleo Smith’s parents was won its time slot, but it was only the fourth most popular show on Sunday night. It was the documentary show’s highest-rated broadcast of the year, drawing in 750,000 viewers in the major metro areas.
Industry insiders, however, questioned if the stated $2 million costs of the program were worth it. According to one critic, “it’s not enough to justify the price tag.” The interview had received a lot of attention from Nine Entertainment, which released multiple teasers leading up to the event. There were more viewers than any other show in that time slot, but it didn’t win out in the ratings. A combined 1,593,000 people tuned in to rival Seven News, followed by Channel Nine’s Married at First Sight with 1,131,000. The network’s reality dating series, which preceded the show, was more popular than the interview. Prior to 60 Minutes, Nine News Sunday drew 1,098,000 viewers, followed by 60 Minutes.
We are very delighted with the outcome and the content of the 60 Minutes interview, which was riveting as Tara Brown met Cleo Smith’s parents for the first time,’ a Nine Entertainment spokesperson said. Last night’s episode was watched by a record amount of people who streamed it on 9Now, which is what we’re looking for, and we are all quite thrilled.’ Sixty Minutes will be able to give a more in-depth version of the tale once legal processes are over, as Nine has hinted. Nine-owned media, including Radio 2GB and 6PR, newspaper pieces, and the morning breakfast show ‘Today,’ have also featured Cleo Smith’s parents in their wake of the story.
60 Minutes’ interview with cancer faker Belle Gibson
In 2018, 60 Minutes’ interview with cancer faker Belle Gibson pulled in significantly fewer views than in 2017. There were 1,073,000 viewers who tuned into the interview headed by Brown that was paid $45,000 to the network. Before cutting and coloring Cleo’s hair, Ellie explained that her daughter’s abductor preyed on the family tent after seeing her bright pink bike outside.
On October 16, a four-year-old girl was abducted from a tent at the Blowholes campsite near Carnarvon, Western Australia, as her family slept nearby. Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, was found with Cleo inside his home on November 3 after an 18-day manhunt for the missing daughter. (https://cozumelparks.com) Unexpectedly, Smith disclosed that it was Cleo’s hot pink bike parked outside the tent that initially alerted Kelly to the presence of a tiny child within. ‘Cleo had a bike at the front which indicated we had a child in that tent and that was all he needed to know she told Nine reporter Tara Brown. It was also revealed that the kidnapper had cut and colored the girl’s hair, a fact that went unnoticed by many, yet her parents were aware of instantly.
She claimed the kidnapping of Cleo had been ‘random,’ with Kelly unzipping the tent on her side before coming over to Cleo’s and grabbing her. That someone could steal her child with such ease was “gut-wrenching,” she said. Apparently, she and her family were not a target; it was only the time and place where they could do it. ‘It’s evident he had no idea whose side of the tent she was on.’ —John. In ours, he had to have glanced, or maybe stuck his head through the hole, and realized, “Yep, she’s not on this side.”‘ Officers later discovered a large footprint next to where Cleo had been sleeping, as well as unidentified DNA, Ms. Smith said.
