The “Neighbours”Network 10’s finale topped the ratings on Thursday with 1.2 Million overnight viewers across the country.
These were viewed in five major metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne Adelaide, Brisbane, Brisbane, Perth. It was 343,000 strong in Melbourne, its hometown.
The ratings for the final episode were far higher than the lead-up episodes this week, with Monday’s drawing 156,000, Tuesday’s 139,000 and Wednesday’s 163,000. In fact, the finale was the most-viewed episode in the series. “Neighbours”Network 10 has been in operation since July 2009.
It lifted Channel 10’s timeslot viewing by 169% compared to the same night in 2021 and
Thursday night’s finale went to air across both 10 Peach, the digital multi-channel which has been home to “Neighbours”Channel 10 was the primary channel in recent years.
It also saw the return of stars who started their careers on the show, such as Kylie Minogue and Margot Robbie, Natalie Imbruglia and Holly Valance, Guy Pearce, and Delta Goodrem.
“Neighbours” was forced to wrap up its 37-year run when Network 10 and the show’s producer Fremantle Australia failed to secure a UK production partner after Channel 5 decided to pull its partnership and funding.
Beverley McGarvey, chief content officer and executive vice president of Paramount ANZ – Network 10’s parent company – had previously expressed hope there could be a future for the show, but this didn’t come to fruition.
McGarvey stated that “Neighbours” was an iconic program and the Australian screen production sector will be worse off when it’s gone.
“It’s a devastating loss for that skills gathering. And people often start out on those big shows,”She said.
“No matter what way you cut it, “Neighbours” is still a loss and one that we’re very very sad about. We really didn’t want it to happen.”
Daniel Monaghan, Paramount ANZ’s senior vice president of content and programming, told Variety Australia that things hadn’t gone to plan.
“When Fremantle told us they weren’t going to be able to get the funding out of the UK – we needed that funding. For the show to continue, everyone needed a UK partner. It was extremely disappointing. It is a good performer on 10 Peach. It’s got an incredibly loyal fan base. It’s been around for almost 40 years. [It’s]Stave.
“But unfortunately when they couldn’t find a partner, it just wasn’t a viable proposition for us. And we were really hopeful for a long time… But it hasn’t worked out the way that we would have liked.”
This story was originally published on Variety Australia