AF
A Former Member 3

Neighbours

deejay posted:
Didn't ITV manage to do something sneaky like that when five got hold of Home and Away? ISTR it was off air for some time before five could show it...
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ITV's deal with Seven included a clause that if any other broadcaster poached the show, then it couldn't resume transmission on the new network for a year, unless ITV dictated otherwise.

ITV however threw their toys out of the pram and kept it off for the full year, which is why the series still remains a decent way behind Australian episodes.

I am not aware of any such clause existing with the BBC but I think it will be highly unlikely that it will finish on BBC1 on the Friday and resume on Five on the Monday.

Despite what the cynics have said I think that pairing it up with Home & Away has got commercial success written all over it. The trick Five need to play is to use Neighbours to attract some of the "lost" viewers back to Home & Away (which has been the lesser-rated of the two shows in the UK since its own changeover.)

With DSO getting underway around the same time it's also a good oppourtunity to milk any Five Life "benefits" for all they're worth - indeed, Home & Away's the only thing really doing any good on there right now!

With good solid multimedia promotion for the actual Aussie Hour rather than an individual soap, I can see it being very succesful commercially - it's all about playing the "we've got both of the big Aussie soaps now" card.