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Channel 5 confirms Home & Away lifetime deal

"It’s not going anywhere until the makers decide to cancel it," says UK broadcaster.

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Channel 5 recently went on the record regarding the future of Home & Away, following the end of Neighbours.

Ben Frow, Channel 5’s director of programmes, confirmed the lifetime deal it has with Seven.

When asked whether Home and Away‘s future would be threatened on the channel, Frow told Radio Times: “No. But I think it will be interesting to see what we do with it as we evolve. There might be somewhere else to put it in the 5 spectrum.

“But it’s a life-of-series deal, so it’s not going anywhere until the makers decide to cancel it.”

11 Responses

  1. What they can’t show Neighbours there any more but they can still show Home & Away? I thought the reason for dumping Neighbours was because they were focusing on local shows.

    1. I think you’ll find the life of series contract with H&A is the difference.
      This line “there might be somewhere else to put it in the 5 spectrum” says to me it’ll be taken off linear at some point and left to play out on their BVOD service.

  3. C5 scooped up Home and Away in it’s early days – they actually bid less than original broadcaster ITV but the lifetime deal clinched it for them.

    Hopefully they push it a bit more now Neighbours has gone. It used to rate decently enough before they had Neighbours but as soon as they swooped in for that H&A played second fiddle.

  4. Considering the lower ratings it gets, and Channel 5’s recent move to screening the evening ‘first look’ episode on its 5STAR channel rather than the main channel, I don’t think too many people in the UK would notice if it did go the way of Neighbours over here.

  5. So strange this stuff.

    He says Home & Away isn’t going anywhere until the makers decide to cancel it. Yet the makers of Neighbours didn’t want to cancel Neighbours either and well that’s what happened, because 5 wanted to support local programming instead which is what I hear.

    Have to wonder why there were different agreements with 5 for both programs.

      1. I’d love to know their payment terms. It must surely be based on an audience% hence why they had no problems moving it to 5star. I’m assuming they pay much less than they did 10 years ago.

        1. You would assume it’s significantly cheaper to acquire the rights to simply air a show like they do H&A, rather then essentially pay the production costs, like they were doing with Neighbours.

    2. Different funding model perhaps too? I think Seven pay for the bulk of the production costs as compared to the arrangements Fremantle had with 10 and Channel 5.

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