Neighbors attracted its biggest audience in 13 years and was the most-watched show across Australia’s five capital cities on Thursday night as 873,000 people tuned in to say goodbye to Ramsay Street.
The three-part finale, broadcast over 90 minutes, was the first time Neighbors had been shown on the main 10 channel since it moved to the network’s digital multichannel following the end of the 2010 season. be the best since July 2009.
More than 1 million people tuned in to say goodbye to Ramsay Street and those, like Susan and Karl Kennedy, who lived there.
Before the move to 11 (now called 10 Peach), Neighbors had averaged between 500,000 and 600,000 viewers a night. When it was released on the 11th of 2011, it attracted an audience of just 254,000 viewers. Its audience has grown since then, but it’s generally only headed in one direction: the wrong one.
The show typically managed to attract around 300,000 viewers per half-hour episode until 2016, when it dropped to around 200,000. Over the past year, it had typically attracted half that number of viewers in Australia.
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Despite its declining relevance to Australian viewers, Neighbors continued because it still had a loyal following in the UK, where it was typically watched by over a million people a day. More importantly, the Fremantle production company had a contract with Channel 5 that paid most of the show’s production costs.
10’s share of the budget was small and, coupled with its need to produce a certain amount of Australian drama under broadcast regulations, this was enough to keep the show on local air.
Neighbors stars: Guy Pearce, Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie, Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne. Credits: Network Ten
The first contract with Channel 5 in 2008 was for 10 years. The next one was for four. The last extension was only 12 months. In March, the British broadcaster finally dropped the show, citing a decision to refocus on British content. Given its poor viewership locally, and the absence of a deal with another broadcaster or streamer, this was the end for Neighbours, after 37 years.