Fiver to Air Blue Soap
Digital channel Fiver, one of Five’s digital stations, has acquired the rights to Out of the Blue, the flop BBC Aussie soap which was originally meant to replace Neighbours.
Five has acquired the rights to repeat the BBC Australian soap, Out of the Blue. Five has bought them for its digital channel, Fiver.
Out of the Blue was commissioned by the BBC to fill the gap left by Neighbours after Five acquired the UK rights to the long running Australian soap. Five outbid the BBC and ITV to get Neighbours, having already acquired Home And Away several years previously.
The BBC commissioned 130 episodes of Out of the Blue and the series premiered on BBC One with 1.2 million viewers. Shortly after it was moved to BBC Two in a move that shocked media insiders and led to a decline in ratings. The soap is also dropped on regular occasions for sporting events, making it difficult for fans to keep track of it.
Unsurprisingly the BBC confirmed earlier this year that the soap would not be re-commissioned at the end of its run. Despite this the soap has sold well to other European countries. It is somewhat ironic that Five has acquired the rights to the soap that was commissioned to replace a soap it acquired in the first place. The series will start its repeats on Fiver early next year.