Neighbours ends

[James2001]

If it was just like buying a typical import, maybe another channel would take a chance (in fact Channel 5 likely would more likely to be keeping it), but it's the fact they'd all but have to fund the production that's almost certainly going to be a deal breaker.

[Brekkie]

I just don't think the figures add up in the way they used too. I do think Neighbours and Home and Away back to back in the 5pm hour would be a good alternative to The Chase/Pointless but if the numbers don't add up for C5 I doubt they will for anyone else. Back in 2008 the C5 deal was reported to be £300m over 8 years, three times the amount the BBC paid. So that's £37.5m a year, and though I suspect the renewal was at a lower rate I don't think anybody is going to come close to matching it - it would be a huge chunk of the BBC3 budget, and indeed for any of the digital channels, whilst C4 are better off focusing on Hollyoaks. I think in the UK soap production comes in around £100-£150k an episode, so over £25m a year.

What would be a shame is for the UK broadcasts to end before the show does, especially if it's a gap of a few months. I'd like to think a deal could be struck for C5 to stick with it a few months later to reach the end, if it is the end. If not Paramount+ might be an option when it launches in the UK but as Fremantle rather than ViacomCBS/Ten seem to sell the rights that's not a foregone conclusion.


Hopefully though if it does come to an end it is seen as an opportunity for Ten rather than a problem, and it could come at a good time. For those that don't know Aussie schedules are reality heavy and usually built around a big franchise airing nightly for a few weeks at 7.30pm, before switching to another reality franchise. These used to air 5 nights a week, then slipped to 4 nights and in recent years to just 3 nights a week, so there is an opportunity there to air alternative content on Wednesday and Thursdays at 7.30pm. Indeed that would kind of be going back to Aussie soap routes - when they were churning them out in the early 80s and 90s most aired two hours a week rather than stripped across the week.

[Humphrey Hacker]

I just don't think the figures add up in the way they used too. I do think Neighbours and Home and Away back to back in the 5pm hour would be a good alternative to The Chase/Pointless but if the numbers don't add up for C5 I doubt they will for anyone else. Back in 2008 the C5 deal was reported to be £300m over 8 years, three times the amount the BBC paid. So that's £37.5m a year, and though I suspect the renewal was at a lower rate I don't think anybody is going to come close to matching it - it would be a huge chunk of the BBC3 budget, and indeed for any of the digital channels, whilst C4 are better off focusing on Hollyoaks. I think in the UK soap production comes in around £100-£150k an episode, so over £25m a year.

What would be a shame is for the UK broadcasts to end before the show does, especially if it's a gap of a few months. I'd like to think a deal could be struck for C5 to stick with it a few months later to reach the end, if it is the end. If not Paramount+ might be an option when it launches in the UK but as Fremantle rather than ViacomCBS/Ten seem to sell the rights that's not a foregone conclusion.


Hopefully though if it does come to an end it is seen as an opportunity for Ten rather than a problem, and it could come at a good time. For those that don't know Aussie schedules are reality heavy and usually built around a big franchise airing nightly for a few weeks at 7.30pm, before switching to another reality franchise. These used to air 5 nights a week, then slipped to 4 nights and in recent years to just 3 nights a week, so there is an opportunity there to air alternative content on Wednesday and Thursdays at 7.30pm. Indeed that would kind of be going back to Aussie soap routes - when they were churning them out in the early 80s and 90s most aired two hours a week rather than stripped across the week.

Agreed about Australian TV and reality franchises. Channel 9 has a series called "The Block" and I believe the first series finale garnered what was the highest ever ratings in the country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Block_...Viewership

[JAS84]

I think C5 with live to regret this decision. H&A on its own at 13:15 with sink further in the ratings, the afternoon movie slot at 14:15 will suffer too without a consistent lead in from Neighbours.

Fremantle will no doubt be looking for a new UK broadcaster, which I suspect will have a chance of getting a deal somewhere. My money is on BBC One or BBC Two daytime, with a THREE repeat.

The trouble is, the BBC would have difficulty justifying that. Budgets are shrinking and you’d lose something else, which would probably take production away from the UK regions. I can’t see the BBC being interested.

Perhaps something like BritBox could try funding it for 6 months to see if it drives any subscribers. But I can’t see people using a streaming service for a soap.

Well, it seems that the BBC and ITV think people will. BritBox in the US actually has Coronation Street, Emmerdale, and EastEnders.

The problem with BritBox is that Neighbours isn't British, so it doesn't actually fit their remit.

[James2001]

Also Britbox in the US aren't paying for the majority of the production costs of said shows, they're merely licencing shows whose production costs are paid elsewhere and would be made regardless of whether they streamed them or not. Which wouldn't be the case for anyone who wants to pick up Neighbours.

[RR]

I think sometimes shows just come to a natural end, it’s been a good run, but I can’t see how it will ever gain more viewers, it’s too bland and banal, we live in a different world now. Just needs putting out of its misery.

The exact same phrase can and should be said about Eastenders too, which started in 1985 just like Neighbours, however it seems to be 'at any cost' to the BBC it will continue.

I don't watch either, but I think there is a major difference between a UK produced drama series and an Australian series as far as a public service broadcaster is concerned.

[msim]

Agree the BBC should stay well clear of this. Financially and politically it would be toxic to be sending licence fee money abroad to fund outright the entire costs of the production. Secondly, why would the BBC want it back? Grundy made their choice in 2007 and went with the money Ch5 were willing to throw rather than have the stability and prestige of twice daily on BBC One. A shrewd business decision by Grundy for sure and maybe that's kept it going longer than it may otherwise have lasted, but also a betrayal.

The show is finished, and there needs to be an acceptance of that. No other UK broadcaster will take it when they're footing all the risk, and a streaming platform won't fund a daily soap that is in reality for many viewers background moving wallpaper watched out of habit and not appointment to view. There is no 'prestige' in the Neighbours brand like there was in the 90s and early 2000s. As someone who stopped watching it regularly when I left home 10+ yrs ago I see the occasional episode now and again and it's just a merry go round of Paul Robinson shenanigans and pretty awful acting. It's clear there is no real budget for decent storylines or talent.

The only way I can see it surviving is if any other international partners are willing to step in and pay a bit extra towards the production cost shortfall that give is unwilling to meet to prevent it leaving a hole in their schedules. I don't even know where else it airs - ROI, NZ and Belgium? It's not going to happen.

The era of the powerful schedule anchor of a soap is closing rapidly. The best thing is just to end it on a decent enough high, give the villains their just desserts and Karl and Susan a happy retirement with Libby. Don't drag the corpse around only for it to inevitably be finished off in a year or so elsewhere.

[gottago]

I think sometimes shows just come to a natural end, it’s been a good run, but I can’t see how it will ever gain more viewers, it’s too bland and banal, we live in a different world now. Just needs putting out of its misery.

The exact same phrase can and should be said about Eastenders too, which started in 1985 just like Neighbours, however it seems to be 'at any cost' to the BBC it will continue.
I find it intriguing that this week THREE said it was looking for a new soap, about young people and Neighbours fits the bill.

As far as I can see from my ratings grids Neighbours doesn't rate well with young audiences at all, it's older-skewing, so wouldn't be right for BBC Three. And of course they couldn't do it politically as an Aussie production, it would very much need to be a UK-based show reflecting UK issues. Not sure why they're looking for a soap really, the genre feels so out of fashion these days.

I don't know if there's too much to be upset about here (apart from job losses of course), but ultimately the show hasn't been particularly popular for quite some time. 1 million over two broadcasts isn't fantastic, it doesn't rate at all in Australia, it's been hanging on by a thread thanks to having to fill a quota in Oz and cashing in on previous popularity in the UK. Nothing lasts forever and its time has come.

[msim]

Classic Neighbours for afternoons on Drama in 2023 then?

I'm quite surprised actually that all the classic soap repeats have lasted so long as they have after ITV3 brought back corrie in 2017. They're clearly pulling in enough numbers. UK Gold used to show it back in the day just like Eastenders so the parallel does exist. A bit of extra income for Fremantle of tapes that would otherwise rot in the archive, cheap enough repeat fees (presumably) for Drama to pay, and Somewhat of an existing audience there to take from Ch5 lunchtimes.

[itsrobert]

As sad as this news is, it was inevitable really. Neighbours was once a powerhouse in the late 80s and most of the 90s - in fact, I think I'm right in saying that it was Britain's most watched TV show in 1990 with over 20 million viewers. The fact it's pulling in only 1 million now shows you how far it has fallen. Coupled with the production situation in Australia and C5 having to foot most of the bill, it doesn't sound viable anymore.

It was absolutely my favourite TV show for many years. It is one of my very earliest memories as all my family watched it religiously when I was a young child. I actually continued watching it until I was 30, even if the final 5 years it was more out of habit than anything else. I decided to quit watching it at the end of 2016 when Lou Carpenter was written out. The show was losing most of the older characters I loved and I guess I was just growing out of it. But, it was pretty bad even then - I can only imagine what it's like now if the trajectory it was on then continued.

Personally, I think it's about time we saw the end of most of these soaps now. I used to be an avid watcher of Coronation Street but gave that up in about 2009. My mum is still a regular viewer so I have seen snippets here and there and from what I have seen it is embarrassingly bad. Everything must come to an end and it's knowing when to pull the plug and go out on a high that is key.

In recent years, to fill my need for an Aussie soap in my life, I have actually turned to older ones like Prisoner Cell Block H, Sons and Daughters and A Country Practice that I vaguely remember from my childhood and are quite reminiscent of the era when Neighbours was at its height. I'd rather watch those than current Neighbours as the quality of the writing is much better, even if the acting is still laughably bad (in a good way, though)!

[Brekkie]

Also Britbox in the US aren't paying for the majority of the production costs of said shows, they're merely licencing shows whose production costs are paid elsewhere and would be made regardless of whether they streamed them or not. Which wouldn't be the case for anyone who wants to pick up Neighbours.

And they're basically content the BBC and ITV can provide to BritBox that they can't get paid more for elsewhere. The soaps have never really been a big sell on linear TV in the US. Both EastEnders and Hollyoaks were tried on BBC America but didn't last long.


Hopefully this is actually the wake up call the Aussie commercial networks leave as whilst drama has enjoyed somewhat of a renaisance world wide over the last decade the Aussie networks have been completely left behind thanks to their obsession with reality. Nine and Ten have had some minor success through their subscription streaming offshoots (The Tourist was via Stan, which is Nine's vaguely successful local challenge to Netflix) but local drama is virtually non-existent on the main channels now and you might get one mini-series and one fairly light soap style drama a year, even on Nine which doesn't have a soap of it's own. Indeed last year Ten didn't screen their first "local" drama (which was the one with Charlie Brooks which aired months earlier on C5) until November - and then wondered why it didn't rate.

[adamiow]

I doubt the BBC could justify the cost, even if they wanted it.

I believe Doctors pulls similar numbers and is relatively cheap to make, as well as counting for their out of London hours. They already have an established line up of dramas that air after Doctors, again out of London and also sell well internationally, and still have some Australian imports. I can't see them shifting everything around to slot Neighbours in - if they did, I expect it would have to play second fiddle to Doctors at lunchtime and end up on BBC 2 for the evening showing.

I think Channel 4 is the only option, putting it on between Steph's Packed Lunch and Countdown and Come Dine With Me/Four In A Bed and The Simpsons. They are currently airing double bills of The Simpsons, so something for that slot would help.

[James2001]

Classic Neighbours for afternoons on Drama in 2023 then?

I'm quite surprised actually that all the classic soap repeats have lasted so long as they have after ITV3 brought back corrie in 2017. They're clearly pulling in enough numbers. UK Gold used to show it back in the day just like Eastenders so the parallel does exist. A bit of extra income for Fremantle of tapes that would otherwise rot in the archive, cheap enough repeat fees (presumably) for Drama to pay, and Somewhat of an existing audience there to take from Ch5 lunchtimes.

I'd love to see a repeat run of Brookside from the start! Could More4 get onto that one?

[Jez_CymruWales]

In recent years, to fill my need for an Aussie soap in my life, I have actually turned to older ones like Prisoner Cell Block H, Sons and Daughters and A Country Practice that I vaguely remember from my childhood and are quite reminiscent of the era when Neighbours was at its height. I'd rather watch those than current Neighbours as the quality of the writing is much better, even if the acting is still laughably bad (in a good way, though)!

I love watching the classic Aussie Soaps such as Prisoner and A Country Practice. I honestly believe if these soaps had been networked and not shown at different stages in different ITV regions they would have been bigger hits. e.g episodes of Prisoner shown on Central in 1990/1991 didn't reach everywhere else in the UK until about 1994/1995 or even later. It wasnt until Neighbours came along and was shown daily everywhere in the UK via the BBC that aussie soaps were taken more seriously. The BBC weren't expecting a huge hit from Neighbours it was simply to fill a slot in the schedule similar to ITV regions showing the likes of A Country Practice and Sons and Daughters.

When Neighbours proved a massive hit and got a 5.35pm slot it was only then that ITV started to look for its own Aussie soap hit. Most of the soaps they were showing regionally like Sons and Daughters and The Young Doctors had all finished in Australia and were all at different stages in various ITV regions. A Country Practice was still being made but was also all over the place - Central for example didnt even start airing it until September 1988 whilst everywhere else started between 1982-1984. Central was therefore years behind and still showing ancient episodes of ACP in 1991/2!

They initially tried a networked Aussie soap with Richmond Hill which only lasted one season in Australia (1988) - by the time ITV started it in October 1988 the axe had already fallen in Australia and understandably ITV lost enthusiasm with it. Granada and Central broke away from the networked episodes and played it out at their own pace but I think every other region stuck with the networked episodes and ended in Mid 1989. Home and Away finally gave them the success they were after from February 1989. where the same episode was screened in all regions albeit some regions airing it at different times. But it was able to be promoted more effectively being networked like Neighbours was.

Personally I think Neighbours had done well to last so long and has had a good run - nearly 37 years. I think its time for the show to end as it really has run it course. Id like to think the UK will see it through to the end however, it would be awful if it was written beyond Summer 2022 and the UK never got to see the conclusion to the series.

[Brekkie]

I think Channel 4 is the only option, putting it on between Steph's Packed Lunch and Countdown and Come Dine With Me/Four In A Bed and The Simpsons. They are currently airing double bills of The Simpsons, so something for that slot would help.

Although scheduling wise I think C4 is the only one where it could fit I think commercially taking a show that doesn't make money for C5 and replacing a repeat of The Simpsons or Come Dine with Me, which presumably at least break even in the slot, doesn't make sense. However perhaps if C4 were set to lose The Simpsons and they had a slot to fill it would be a different story.

Similarly BBC3 at 7pm would work so well especially with Emmerdale moving, but the costs just can't be justified.