The Money Programme was a serious weekly magazine programme for businessmen in an early-mid Sunday evening slot.

It was therefore a real shock to find that the subject of one of their reports was ABBA!

Nick Clarke reported from Sweden on ABBA's business deals which had taken them "to the brink of ruin". Björn and Stig were both interviewed (separately) about the financial troubles surrounding ABBA's investments.  At the start of the report, the singer in the Polar Music Studios is Tove Naess.

Others interviewed were Anna Hedborg, Swedish economist; Lennart Svenson, President of Monark AB.

It was this programme where most fans got their first glimpse of the cartoon Money Money Money as a clip was shown during this report.

Programme Director: Don Harley
Editor: Richard Tait
Producers: Michael Hogan, Francesca Kirby-Green & Michael Davidson.

Click here for a TV listing from Leidse Courant - 15 October 1983, p.11 (listing the following day's TV guide).  Note that the timings would be in CET and therefore the time in the UK would be one hour earlier.

Archive data from BBC written archive:
Title: THE MONEY PROGRAMME
Caption: Bill Kerr Elliott rep on the background of Reuters & the reasons behind its present success. incs intvs, sp s film, b/w flashback ftge (c) Visnews Moneymaker rep on competition within the building societies to increase sav- ings. Since the announcement by Abbey National to pull out of the cartel agree- ment, the building societies have been in a turmoil. inc sp s ftge, intv, studio intv, graphics. Nick Clarke rep from Swedon on the business deals of Abba which has taken them to the brink of ruin. Recently the Stockholm Stock Exchange suspended trading on the shares of an investment company called Kuben which Abba took over. Inc intvs, Sp s ftge, flashbk ftge (check(c)Stills,Graphics. Bill Kerr Elliott rep on the background of Reuters & the reasons behind its present success. inc intvs, sp s film, stills, b/w flashback ftge (c) Visnews. Nick Clarke rep from Sweden on the business deals of Abba which has taken them to the brink of ruin. Recently the Stockholm Stock Exchange suspended trading on the shares of an investment company called Kuben which Abba took over. Inc intvs, Sp s ftge,flashbk ftge(check(c)Stills,Graphics. Nick Clarke rep from Sweden on the business deals of Abba which has taken them to the brink of ruin. Recently the Stockholm Stock Exchange suspended trading on the shares of an investment company called Kuben which Abba took over. Inc intvs, Sp s ftge, flashbk (Check(c)Stills, graphics.
Guid: LCAW342L
Transmission date: 16 Oct 1983
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Transcript:
Nick Clarke rep from Sweden on the business deals of Abba which has taken them to the brink of ruin. Recently the Stockholm Stock Exchange suspended trading on the shares of an investment company called Kuben which Abba took over. Inc intvs, Sp s ftge, flashbk ftge (check(c)Stills,Graphics.
Nick Clarke rep from Sweden on the business deals of Abba which has taken them to the brink of ruin. Recently the Stockholm Stock Exchange suspended trading on the shares of an investment company called Kuben which Abba took over. Inc intvs, Sp s ftge, flashbk (Check(c)Stills,graphics.
Nick Clarke rep from Swedon on the business deals of Abba which has taken them to the brink of ruin. Recently the Stockholm Stock Exchange suspended trading on the shares of an investment company called Kuben which Abba took over. Inc intvs, Sp s ftge, flashbk ftge (check(c)Stills,Graphics.
Moneymaker rep on competition within the building societies to increase sav- ings. Since the announcement by Abbey National to pull out of the cartel agree- ment, the building societies have been in a turmoil. inc sp s ftge, intv, studio intv, graphics.
Bill Kerr Elliott rep on the background of Reuters & the reasons behind its present success. inc intvs, sp s film, stills, b/w flashback ftge (c) Visnews.
Bill Kerr Elliott rep on the background of Reuters & the reasons behind its present success. incs intvs, sp s film, b/w flashback ftge (c) Visnews
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INTVS: Lord MARSH, Chrmn Newspaper Publishers Assoc: Reuters is amazing crock of gold but can't find key to open it (0.00-0.15) Harold EVANS, fmr editor Times & Sunday Times: this is big money - bonanza time (-0.35) money will eventually filter down to unions or how to play better bingo (11.41-12.00) Michael NELSON, Gen. Man. Reuters: we know a bit about this business after 132yrs; stayed close to our markets (3.37-4.05) nothing in trust to say shareholders can't have inv- estment; first concern is to preserve Reuters holdings - doesn't contravene spi- rit of the trust; not able to talk about value of my shares (6.54-8.51) Geoff- reu ROBERTSON, barrister: trustees are not independent - the operations stands to benefit them enormously (-9.31) Lord MARSH: there are several different busnesses at Reuters; everybody wants the news service which is the smallest; it's incredibly complex issue (9.49- 11.22)
SCENICS: ext Halifax bldg soc branch & Abbey Nat (0.05-0.23) gv busy street, bldg soc branch in b/g (0.51-1.03) int Greenwich bldg soc, man paying in money to cashier (2.42-3.00) INTV: Robin NICHOLS, Chf Exec Greenwich bldg soc: small socs don't advertise as much as large ones so can give higher interest rate; al- so have higher proportion of funds in ordinary shares but do have to charge slightly higher mortgage rate than larger socs (-4.11) Brian WIDLAKE studio INTV: Clive THORNTON, Chf Man Abbey Nat: Halifax members are being short chang- ed; we're out of cartel because it's dead now; we're not rocking the boat; our interest rate 8.25% for investors & now rethinking mortgage schemes (-8.27)
INTV: Stikkan ANDERSON, who masterminded their Eurovision triumph: I wanted to have money left when the group were no longer popular; but then a lot of big money cam in; it wasn't possible to put it into the music industry so had to di- versify (2.38-3.12) it's interesting to get to know other businesses (5.29-5.59) Abba don't really need to work any more (6.19-6.36) as soon as Abba is involved in something it doesn't really matter if we only have 1%; & something goes wrong then that company becomes an Abba company (12.59-14.15) s ANDERSON playing guitar (4.20-4.38) s him in house & ext of it (-4.53) s int house (5.02-5.29) ext ANDERSON's house (12.50-12.59)
SCENICS: s' journalists at Reuters gathering news on VDUs (2.05-3.02) s dir- ectors of Reuters working with 'Monitor', their own system (3.15-3.37) s' stock exchange (4.05-4.19) ext s Daily Express offices (11.22-11.34) s presses & newspapers (-11.41) FLASHBACK FTGE: B/W: s Aachen in 1920s (0.45-0.55) (c) Visnews.
INTVS: Bjorn ULVAEUS, Abba mbr: Eurovision Song Cont. brought great wealth & we had to decide whether to stay in Sweden or not (1.06-1.34) nothing for people at Monark to worry abt, espec. their jobs; just that someone borrowed too much mon- ey & too much interest flowing out (9.49-10.47) from now on we'll keep our dist- ance from these problems (11.14-11.32) Anna HEDBORG, Swed. TU economist: frigh- tening situation; when people come onto stock mkt with lot of money & no know- ledge of companies & the industries - anything cld happen (8.38-9.25) Lennart SVENSON, Pres. Monark AB: weren't pleased by Kuben rescue plan as involved sell- ing off the constituent parts inc Monark but cldn't do anything (9.32-9.49)
SCENICS: Polar Music studio, Stockholm int s with recording of young group Tovek (0-0.48) cs guards at Royal Palace, Stockholm (1.34-1.52,2.09-2.25) s' tour- ists, Stockholm (1.52-2.09) s' traffic (many Volvos), Stockholm (4.02-4.20) s' Stockholm Bath House inc man being massaged & naked man diving into pool (3.12-3.52) ext s offices of leasing company INFINA (bought up by Abba) (-4.02) int s ANDERSON's office with gold discs on walls (5.59-6.19) int s Monark cycle factory production line (Abba investment) (7.00-7.29,8.10-8.38) ext s Monark factory (9.25-9.32) demo by workers from publishing company Saxon & Lindstrom outside Abba's offices (10.47-11.14)
s teenagers in record shop, some of them listening to records on headphones (11.32-11.50) ext s Polar Music Int. AB (11.50-12.01) FLASHBACK: Eurovision Song Contest 1974: Abba singing 'Waterloo', check (c) (0.48-1.06) Cartoon version of Abba singing, check (c) (12.12-12.50) video of Abba, check (c) (14.15-15.06)
BBC Item Type: Item
BBC SubCatalogue: LONPROG

Thanks to Jozsef, Ken Griffin c/o ABBAMAIL (no longer oline); Laszlo Arvai c/o ABBA Village and information also John Winter, Magnus Carlsson and Peter Palmquist from ABBAtalk.
YouTube links c/o bobtrouper