The future of Australia’s iconic soap opera “Neighbours” is in serious doubt after the ViacomCBS-owned Channel 5 in the UK announced the other day it will not renew the series after this coming summer.
The soap, currently in its 37th season and nearing the 8,800 episode mark, is produced by FremantleMedia Australia. While once a strong cultural institution that launched multiple careers from the likes of Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie, its ratings have become quite low as the TV landscape has considerably changed and the series was sidelined to 10Peach.
As a result, the show’s budget in recent years has largely come from that UK broadcast agreement signed in 2009. It is currently watched by 1.5 million viewers a day in the UK – reportedly making it the fourth-biggest rated daily soap.
That’s not enough though as the UK TV market has changed and Channel 5 is seemingly more inclined to invest in original local drama following recent success stories such as the “All Creatures Great and Small” reboot.
FremantleMedia shot out an email to crew and cast the other day confirming the show’s production will go on hiatus. In the wake of the news, the hashtag #SaveNeighbours has been trending on social media.
Australian broadcaster Channel 10, also owned by ViacomCBS, has indicated it would love the show to continue if it can find another broadcast partner to replace Channel 5. Discussions on that front are ongoing.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
