At this point, IMT was still only seen by audiences in Melbourne through GTV9. Graham's national exposure to interstate audiences did not commence until February 1960 with the introduction of The Graham Kennedy Show, produced separately to IMT. The national show was initially screened in Sydney on ATN7 in 1960, the formal creation of the Nine Network not occurring until after TCN 9 owner Sir Frank Packer had purchased GTV 9 in August 1960.

Speaking to the TV Times in 1979, IMT producer-floor manager Tom Miller said of these early days, 'No one in TV ever did as much homework as Graham. Everything was planned. In those days he was getting a lot less than $100 a week. I know – I negotiated his first contract. People don’t realise how hard he works. He makes it look easy. Nobody works harder than Graham.'

Notes by Simon Smith