Hutchy’s surprise studio punt amid sport ban
Punters desperately missing the footy can now tune in to Melbourne's other Saturday sport.
OBrien Real Estate last week launched a live-stream panel show, centred around live auctions and featuring market discussion, filmed out of Craig Hutchison's Crocmedia studios.
And OBrien director Stavros Ambatzidis said Hutchy already had some novel ideas.
"Craig Hutchison wants to pitch it to a network and have live betting (on the auctions)," Mr Ambatzidis said.
"Only Hutchy could come up with that - I take my hat off to him."
But a Crocmedia spokeswoman said the company had no such plans and did not endorse gambling on real estate.
About 1600 people tuned in to the first show, broadcast on OBrien's Facebook page, last Saturday, May 2, to watch nine auctions broken up with market analysis and auction tips.
Mr Ambatzidis, who records a different show regularly out of the Crocmedia studio, said advice from thoroughbred horse and livestock auctioneers Inglis spurred him to reach out to the influential media player.
"I actually rang Hutchy at Crocmedia and I said, 'Mate, how much to use the studio you do women's footy in?' " he said.
Having professionals overseeing the technical details allowed the OBrien team to work more closely with buyers, Mr Ambatzidis said.
"We had a team that Crocmedia put together and all I had to do was work with my bidders," he said.
"We learnt from Inglis when they would interview Gai Waterhouse between races, we did the same - interviewed industry experts in between auctions."
The Herald Sun approached Craig Hutchison for comment for this article.
Among the auctions the agency will be live-streaming this weekend are 68 Justin Circuit, Hampton Park and 7 Arcots Court, Waterways.
The Hampton Park property has price expectations of $499,000-$548,000, while the Waterways property is going for $599,000-$650,000.
Originally published as Hutchy's surprise studio punt amid sport ban
