10 changes strategy on Five Bedrooms
Hit drama promised for Free to Air in 2021 will now move behind a paywall.
- Published by David Knox
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Popular 10 drama Five Bedrooms is moving home, shifting from Free to Air to upcoming Streaming service Paramount+.
The move behind a paywall is already generating some negative reactions from fans who had been told through the 10 Upfronts announcements that Season 2 would screen on 10 this year.
How shit. Learned that Five Bedrooms S2 gets moved to paramount plus and won't air free to air..
UGH
— Douglas Johnson (@my3epaulets) May 7, 2021
Sooooooo shitty Five Bedrooms season 2 is going to Paramount+. It was funded as a free to air show on ch10 – how can they siphon it off to a pay per view service?!
— Scott Dawkins (@dawkins_scott) May 6, 2021
Doesn't this mean it won't be on free to air tv at all ? That's sad for those of us living on budgets that don't allow the luxury of payTV 😢. Shame as it was a show I really enjoyed.
— PolarK🐧❄️ (@Karina_Melbs) May 7, 2021
I’m very disappointed it’s not on channel 10. One of my favourite shows.
— 🇦🇺martin m🇦🇺 (@martin_3133) May 7, 2021
10 sources confirmed to TV Tonight its new home was on upcoming subscription service Paramount+, was a change in strategy.
It is rare for a show to shift from Free to Air to Subscription in this manner.
A Place to Call Home moved from Seven to Foxtel, but only after it had been axed by Seven before Foxtel answered fan pleas to save the show. Both Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries and My Life is Murder will premiere new seasons on Acorn TV, but will enjoy second windows on 7TWO and 10 respectively.
Five Bedrooms off 10 also leaves the network with little ongoing adult local drama: Neighbours on 10 Peach at this stage, plus comedy How to Stay Married. Miniseries With Intent is also due. There are scripted kids’ shows Dive Club and The Bureau of Magical Things.
Paramount+ will also have local comedy Spreadsheet and John Ibrahim drama Last King of The Cross.
Update: Five Bedrooms has been developed for a third season.
45 Responses
Wouldn’t be surprised if S2 streams on Paramount+ in August 2021 and then airs on Channel 10 in June/July 2022, just before S3 streams. Whilst frustrating for fans, it makes sense that ViacomCBS are trying to use a local asset as a drawcard to sign up to their new platform. A bit like when 10 and CBS jointly launched Eleven and moved Neighbours and The Simpsons to draw audiences.
So it gets moved to streaming which makes everyone angry, no one watches as they (me) don’t want another streaming service and then season 3 doesn’t get made because no one watched season 2??!
This is going to be very negative for 10.
I’d be pretty upset if Five Bedrooms was moved to a streaming service because I’ve been waiting for the second to come to 10 for ages.
Is there a chance they’ll show the premiere on 10 then drop the series immediately on Paramount+ whilst continuing to show it weekly on 10. That is becoming a common strategy elsewhere now and showing tge premiere in full will be far more effective promo than just ads pointing people to Paramount+.
Also chance they’ll be a free trial option too.
P.S. For what it’s worth I think it’s a dumb rebrand by ViacomCBS and just as they did with Paramount Network they’ve overestimated the power of the brand. All Access had the advantage that it could be tagged on to local brands so be directly linked in consumers minds.
The problem with the All Access brand was that they had the local brand attached. People were getting 10 Play and 10 All Access confused. The amount of comments I saw like this… “Why would I pay for catch up?” “7+ & 9Now are free.”
At least with the P+ brand it is clearly competing with Netflix, Stan etc.