Neighbours axed from Channel Ten

 

Australian soap Neighbours has been axed from Channel Ten and will instead move to the broadcaster’s new digital station. The axing comes in the soaps 25th anniversary year but the celebrations have been marred by low ratings.

Australian soap Neighbours has been axed from Channel Ten and will instead move to the broadcaster’s new digital station. The axing comes in the soaps 25th anniversary year but the celebrations have been marred by low ratings. The soap is also celebrating passing 6000 episodes but the low ratings – dropping below half a million viewers – have continued to plague Neighbours for some time now. It’s future was thought to be relatively secure due to its popularity oversea’s, such as in the UK where it is screened on Channel Five.

 

“Neighbours is an important and cherished member of the Network Ten family. We believe Neighbours is perfectly suited to Eleven’s audience strategy and will find a successful and enduring home on Eleven. We will round out the first 25 years with a bang, and give Australia’s most successful drama a new home to keep it vibrant in the schedule for the next 25.”- David Mott, Chief of programming, told ABC

“Just as Neighbours forged new territory for Ten in 1986, so we will again for Eleven in 2011. We are very proud of the faith being placed in Neighbours and the key role we will be playing in Eleven’s launch and lineup. Our storyline plans for 2011 are both bold and dramatic. – Ian Hogg

 

Neighbours will move to Channel Ten’s new digital channel, Eleven, when it launches next year. Eleven will be targeted at the 13 to 29 year old audiences which traditionally make up most of Neighbour’s audience. The axing of Neighbours from Channel Ten will come as a blow to the soap especially during its anniversary year. Although it is moving home to a new digital channel the fact its being dropped from the main flagship channel is an indication that bosses in Australia are not happy with its performance.