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10 changes strategy on Five Bedrooms

Hit drama promised for Free to Air in 2021 will now move behind a paywall.

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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.

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

  2. The issue for me is while living in a semi-rural area, mobile phone reception is still unreliable and NBN strength is not useful at night, plus out reasonably new TV is not compatible with some streaming channels. So I will either wait or miss it and find the push to streaming services discriminate against those with unreliable internet or technology challenges and non disposable incomes.
    It seems we are going the way of US and UK TV pay per view reliance.

  3. Really enjoyed the first season and was waiting for this one, but I really don’t think I’d watch it on streaming. It wasn’t the right move from 10 as it is one of the more successful shows – hopefully it screens on FTA a couple of months after release.

    I can’t see myself subscribing the any streaming sites though…I’ve only ever used free trials.

  4. A few points:

    1. I don’t think it’s fair to be bagging out people expressing their disappointment at this decision. Everyone’s got a right to their opinion. If you support 10’s decision, great. If you don’t, that’s fine too.

    2. There are so many streaming services out there already that it’s difficult to keep up. As a subscriber to Netflix, Stan and Disney Plus, I’m reluctant to subscribe to more. I also understand the frustration of viewers who don’t have disposable income to spend on multiple streaming services.

    3. I can understand people’s frustration with this decision. I was frustrated when I read it and while I like Five Bedrooms enough, it’s definitely not enough to motivate me to pay an additional fee for another streaming service. I’m an advocate of streaming, absolutely, but I don’t like this almost bait-and-switch method of airing the first season of a…

  5. What a load of bullshit! I love this show and have waited for it to return but no way will I sign up to a streaming platform & pay to watch it.

    1. I’m the same. I’m unlikely to subscribe for one show. I’ll have to wait. I only recently watched the final season of A Place To Call Home from a friend’s DVD and I’m now watching Wentworth from recordings on the ABC.

  6. What’s with all the negative comments? If you want to watch it, pay the $9 and support Aussie dramas and the Aussie TV industry. You’re all happy to pay much more for Netflix and Disney+. Can’t have everything for free forever, if you want it, you gotta pay for it. If you don’t, then don’t pay and don’t watch.

  7. Let me see if I have this right, a largely unwatched network (regularly 4th placed) takes a largely unwatched drama, and puts it on a streaming platform in a hugely overcrowded market where if you’re not Stan/Amazon/Disney/Netflix you’re nobody and somehow this is meant to succeed??? That’s like me running a supermarket, taking a product that isn’t selling and putting it out the back in the hope that somehow a customer stumbles across it and manages to buy it…. insane

    1. Do you know what show people are willing to get a streaming service for? Game of Thrones. And even then, it was the most pirated show in Australia. Does Ten honestly think that this show is Game of Thrones-level hype?

  8. Ch10 can pretty much do what it wants with the show. If 5 bedrooms is going to make more of an impact on Paramount + than FTA so be it. The network IMHO is trying hard to ensure its viability as a going concern. Comments bagging a network for trying to sort out its own back yard are not helpful.

  9. If you want to watch shows aired on Netflix you have to pay for that previlliage so whats the difference if 10 does the same??? None…..

    1. The fact that it was a FTA show and season two was destined for FTA. Was never intended to be streaming.

      However people always complain about paying for streaming see Back to the Rafters and A Place To Call Home.

  10. So, a few issues with this, and I’m happy to be correct on either. I’m no expert,
    1. Aren’t the first few seasons of dramas essentially subsidised by taxpayers in the form of grants or credits or whatever they get through Screen Australia (or the state versions)? That being the case, should 10 really be hiding it behind a pay wall?
    2. I think I’m right in saying that it’s 10’s best rating drama since Offspring. It seems to me to be an odd decision to not expose it to the most eye balls possible.

      1. Yes, streaming services can apply (and have received) funding from federal / state funding bodies, same as Foxtel has. There was once a debate that Foxtel dramas should screen later on ABC due to govt investment… it happened with Wentworth but I think purely unrelated.

  11. Wow ! Ten absolutely treating loyal viewers with comtempt here. Was looking forward to watching S2 but definitely won’t be subscribing to pay TV to see it.
    S1 was starting to build up a loyal following but probably not enough viewers to move it to Pay TV so early in the piece..

  12. I suspect 10 still plans to air the show on FTA maybe six months after its streaming premiere…they just don’t want to confirm that so people sign up for Paramount+ rather than wait for FTA. From 10’s perspective, surely it makes sense to air on FTA at some stage to maximise return on their investment. I’m interested to know if 10 had already started selling advertising for the show yet and what happens there.

  13. There’s always the chance 10 will change strategy again. In the past Nine screened some Stan stuff on broadcast further down the track, such as Wolf Creek. It may be one position now to generate subscriptions, but another later on….

  15. It sucks that Five Bedrooms will be on a streaming site. Season One received good reviews and fans like myself have waited patiently for season two to air on FTA. Now we may even wait that little more. I also think its a slap in the face for our drama industry. It’s getting smaller by the year. Networks wonder why viewers are deserting FTA.

  16. Odd. We watched it when there was nothing else on but not worthy of forking out more dollars. Not sure how this helps Australian drama in the long run.

  17. This is because CBS came late to subscription based streaming, and failed with their first attempt All Access. In Australia, CBS had already sold much of their premium content to other networks and streamers so have little to drive subscriptions for its relauch as Paramount+, and risk it failling too.

    Premium drama is expensive and audiences for FTA dramas have plummeted as more choice is available. Revenue per viewer on commerical networks has also plummetted as people skip ads and advertisers shift from FTA to targeted internet advertising which is more efficent because they only have to pay for guaranteed views by people in their target demographics. Drama will move behind paywalls.

    Foxtel didn’t listen to A Place To Call Home fans, Foxtel saw an opportunity to buy an off-the-shelf production, with a larger audience than their dramas, that appeal to a major demographic of…

    1. Same here. Loved the show and was looking forward to S2, but I won’t reward 10 with this sort of behaviour. It shows contempt for the FTA viewer.

  19. Surely 10 could air it some time after its Paramount+ premiere? Subscribers can enjoy it first and ad-free while those who are patient can opt for a delayed FTA screening?

    I understand that these platforms require exclusive content to appeal to subscribers, but there are also sectors of the market that aren’t interested in subscription TV at all. I’m tech-savvy and young(ish) but I have no interest in subscription platforms at all, but I’m probably in the minority in that I prefer physical media (Blu-ray) if given the option. I wouldn’t even mind opting for digital purchases if they were DRM free and weren’t such a step down from Blu-ray quality, but I doubt that would ever happen.

  20. This is not a good move by 10. The ratings weren’t brilliant to start with (they were good not not great) and I can guarantee the 500,000+ fans will not all subscribe to their new platform.

    I loved the show and I will personally wait until all episodes are available (as I do with Wentworth) because I already have Netflix and Disney+ so will not add a third service on a permanent basis.

    I look at some streaming services as a movie ticket. I buy one month and then cancel. Just wondering if they will offer the first 7 to 10 days free?

  21. This totally sucks. Not good enough 10. Ch 7 have form doing this too. Still annoyed at them dumping Greys after 17 seasons. They did the same with Suits & Durrels. After 3 or 4 seasons dumped them.

    1. Yes, was really disappointing regarding The Durrells on Ch 7. They did the same to Cold Feet – screened some seasons and then dropped it from FTA.
      Good to know though that all 4 seasons of The Durrells are currently available to watch on ABC iview.

      1. Think I watched the first 2 seasons on 7’s main channel but wasn’t aware that it moved to 7 TWO. Kept an eye out for the Seasons 2 and 3 on their secondary channels but must have missed them..

  22. Very poor insight. This move will kill the show. Very few people sign up to subscriber services for one show, perhaps Line of Duty and The Mandalorian being the exceptions. We don’t have much information about Paramount+ yet, but can’t see Five Bedrooms being a reason for viewers to sign up.

  23. For a streaming platform (yet another one) to gain traction it must have a series which attracts eyeballs and keeps them. Think Stranger Things on Netflix, The Expanse on Amazon Prime or The Mandalorian on Disney+. I don’t think Five Bedrooms is going to have the same appeal for Paramount+.

  25. Really disappointing how scripted drama is being disrespected by free to air television in Australia. Forcing us to pay for new dramas is a slap in the face to viewers and the industry.

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