ITV makes £20m bid for 'Neighbours'

[Luna]

ITV is in "advanced negotiations" with Fremantle to poach Neighbours from the BBC, according to Broadcast.

The broadcaster is thought to have offered Fremantle around £80,000 per episode, four times that of the BBC. The deal would value the Aussie soap, which has a UK audience of 7 million, at more than £20 million a year.

The magazine reports that Fremantle was ready to accept ITV's offer earlier this week but could not finalise terms on additional rights, such as VOD and broadband.

George McGhee, director of acquisitions at the BBC, said that he was still in discussions over renewing the existing deal. "Fremantle will ultimately do what it wants to do," he said. "I'm sure ITV would like to have it but would that be best for Neighbours?"

[Jessie Wallace]

No No No No No, and No again.
They had Home and away and lost that, and i don't want adverts during Neighbours. And just NOOOOOOOO

[Luna]

I take it your not into this idea then dawn........:rolleyes:

[Siobhan]

I agree with Dawn.. they had H&W and lost it and they will mess up neighbours too cause people are not going to want ads in the middle of it..

[Jessie Wallace]

I take it your not into this idea then dawn........:rolleyes:

Now i don't know where you got that idea from :lol:

[Katy]

i agree, they also tried crossroads and that didn't work either.

[Abbie]

I dont think so, would just be wrong and thne they would have 3 soaps!!( yes lol I can count :cool:)

[Chloe O'brien]

I think it would be a bad idea if ITV were to buy the rights. They would not be able to have a direct time slot for it as at the moment at 5pm there is always different shows on. This week is repeats of the Royal, other times is heartbeat or Morse. The show would bound to loose veiwers with the adverts and it would stand no chance it is was competing with The Paul O'Grady Show. They should leave neighbours where it is. It has been in that slot for over 20 years.

[CrazyLea]

So long as it continues to be shown, and they don't lose it, I don't mind where it is lol. I could cope with the adverts.

[Lindy]

Keep it on BBC 1, as the others have said, it makes more sense to stay with BBC1.

[Jojo]

I really don't like this idea one bit - Neighbours has always been on BBC and thats where it should stay IMO. Since ITV lost Home and Away, viewing figures have been back on the rise again since its been on C5. I don't want an ad break halfway through and a "Neighbours is brought to you in association with....." slogan etc. Leave it where it is Freemantle - I can't honestly see where they would fit two episodes now what with Loose Women etc during the day (not that I watch that of course :o ) lol and with bringing back Supermarket sweep in the afternoon.

Not a good idea imo

[Abbie]

I suppose the mian is that the soap stays on our TV's but we dont want it to get ruined by changing channels

[Abi]

They already have 2 soaps, why do they need 3?! I might be able to understand C4 or C5 making a bid for it, but ITV? Thats just stupid, theres no where to fit it!

(Though an omnibus at the weekends might be ok!)

I would hate the adverts in the middle of it though. I like the slot it has at the minute, because it suits what is in the content of the show. But as long as its shown twice on the same day, i dont think it would make much odds to me.

[Abbie]

They already have 2 soaps, why do they need 3?! I might be able to understand C4 or C5 making a bid for it, but ITV? Thats just stupid, theres no where to fit it!

I know what you mean, I think ITV only want it to be greedy

[megan999]

I would like it to stay on BBC1. I would hate the adverts in the middle, and also I don't think they would show it twice a day like BBC1 does.:banned:

[Chloe O'brien]

The BBC could be about to withdraw from negotiations for Australian soap Neighbours.

Last week, it was reported that rival ITV was in advanced negotiations with distributor Fremantle, and considering paying £80,000 an episode to acquire the soap. Though ITV insiders have said it could not finalise terms on additional rights, such as VOD and broadband.

The BBC has called Fremantle's demands "unrealistic and greedy", after its offer of around £70,000 an episode was rejected. The BBC currently pays £25,000 an episode for the soap.

BBC director of acquisitions George McGhee told Broadcast: "If a deal is not reached in the very, very near future, we will withdraw the money and move it elsewhere. We quite possibly will [move it by the end of this week]."

Five, owned by German media giant RTL which also owns Fremantle, is also believed to interested in acquiring the programme.

[Luna]

£45,000.00 pay rise and they rejected it :eek: ***thinks sky may have something to do with this since they bought shares in ITV a few months ago*** looks like it could be going to ITV people

[Jessie Wallace]

If it does move to ITV it will be the bigest mistake ever. they re re-vamping the show in Oz because of dwindling viewers well they are going to have a similar problem if they move it to ITV. :angry: :angry: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :angry:

[Abbie]

Its not looking good guys,its not looking good at all
:(

[Chloe O'brien]

Apparently the Beeb offered to pay £75,000 per episode but freemantle knocked it back. If an agreement can't be resolved airing of the programme can end as early as next week.

[Abbie]

Next week! :eek: This is crazy!

[*-Rooney-*]

what does it matter what channel its on or if theres ads in the middle as long as we still get neighbours , at this stage we cant afford to be fussy,
so everyone get a grip

[Jessie Wallace]

No not everyone can watch it if 5 take it over, so there is no grip to get hold of actually :mad:

And yes Adverts do spoil things, same as when you watch a movie, there's nothing worse as when it get's to a good bit and they put adverts on! grrr

[Cornishbabe]

agreed, a lot of people do not have access to channel 5. and adverts drive you up the wall.

[Jojo]

what does it matter what channel its on or if theres ads in the middle as long as we still get neighbours , at this stage we cant afford to be fussy,
so everyone get a grip

Don't think there is any real need for the "get a grip" statement. There are many people who are unable to get Channel 5 (if I didn't pay stupid amounts of money per month to Sky, I would be one of these) so I do think that that was kind of unnecessary.

[Cornishbabe]

They've just stated on the BBC news that the BBC have lost the contract but they didnt say who to. I guess if its between ITV and Channel 5 ITV would be better as more people can watch it and they are more likly to put it at half 5 when hey always seem to have issues filling that space. Shame about the advert breaks we will have to endure.

[Luna]

The BBC has pulled out of a bidding war for the long-running Australian daytime soap Neighbours.
The show has aired twice a day since 1986, but the BBC has now withdrawn from talks to renew its contract.

BBC One controller Peter Fincham said he had been asked to pay £300m over eight years - "roughly three times" what the BBC had already been paying.

"We'd love to have kept it but not at any price," he said. The show will end on BBC One next spring.

Mr Fincham said he was sure the show would remain on UK television but he did not know which channel would buy the distribution rights, which are owned by Fremantle Media.

Fremantle declined to comment.

"It's sad to lose Neighbours but these things happen," he said.


Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan have had great success

He added that it was too early to discuss what would replace the programme.

The BBC said the corporation could not justify paying the sum required to its licence fee payers and that the sum "would have compromised our ability to invest in new original programmes".

It described the £300m price tag as "an unrealistic price demand".

Both instalments of the show, which airs at 1340 and 1735 each weekday, have a combined audience of around five million.

But in 1990, the evening show alone was drawing in audiences of up to 12 million.

The soap, which launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce and Jason Donovan, is watched by millions of people in dozens of countries, including Papua New Guinea, Dubai and Ghana.

[DaVeyWaVey]

Five has secured the rights to Neighbours, with the long-running soap joining Five and Five Life in 2008.

The news was announced just hours after it emerged that the BBC, which has aired the soap since 1986, had pulled out of negotiations.

"I'm delighted Five has secured such a popular and sought after series," said Five managing director of content Lisa Opie. "Neighbours is quite rightly much loved by its many fans and it will be a greatly prized part of our schedule and suitably cherished by us."

Neighbours distributor Fremantle was accused by the BBC of making an "unrealistic price demand" and is understood to have priced the soap at approximately £300m over eight years. Fremantle and Five are both owned by RTL.

"Five will be a great home for Neighbours and FremantleMedia is confident that the show will continue to go from strength to strength," said FremantleMedia Enterprises CEO David Ellender.

Five CEO Jane Lighting added: "Neighbours is a fantastic asset for us to add to Five’s family of channels, particularly as it is a household brand which delivers strong audiences daily."

Source: Digital Spy

[DaVeyWaVey]

Sorry double post...

Anyway, i'm guessing they'll probably put it on at 6:30 over on Five, right after Home And Away so they can have an "Australlian soap hour"...it is bad news to the people who can't get Five though, Neighbours are bound to lose some viewers now.

[Jessie Wallace]

This has to be the worst news ever for Neighbours fans. This will be another soap i can't watch, as i don't get chanel 5 in my area. :mad:

[Bryan]

Sorry double post...

Anyway, i'm guessing they'll probably put it on at 6:30 over on Five, right after Home And Away so they can have an "Australlian soap hour"...it is bad news to the people who can't get Five though, Neighbours are bound to lose some viewers now.

Plus its gonna face very though competion, the news on ITV and Hollyoaks on Channel 4 (which is getting more and more popular by the month as the 1 million increase in ratings has shown)

[Abi]

From a completly selfish point of view, i'm quite pleased its channel 5, as i dont think they're ruined H&A, so i doubt they'd ruin Neighbours either. And we should be able to watch the next episode the day before on Five Life. But for those who dont have access to it, its got to be annoying. More than annoying, actually, as i know how i'd feel if i couldn't watch one of my fav shows.

And i reckon the only competition it would face at 6.30 would be Hollyoaks. By 6.30 its just the regional news, really, and most people just tune in for the headlines at 6. And even if they did have competition from the news, it would be BBC, not ITV.

But i think they'll try and keep it to a 5.30 slot, to keep some of the existing viewers?

Why is it that not everyone can pick up 5 anyway? (I always wondered this, lol!). Is the signal different, or weaker, or something? :searchme:

[Jessie Wallace]

Some areas don't have digital yet Abi, can't even get free view. It's most annoying, and even more so now that i won't be-able to watch my favourite soap, the same thing happened with Home and Away. Everywhere is meant to be digital by 2008, but it's just not going to happen.

[Jojo]

Sorry Dawnie - digital isn't going to happen by 2008 (I think that was the original start year of the switchover though)

Regional Switchovers are:

Border 2008
Granada, Westcountry and parts of Wales are due to be switched over in 2009
Remainder of Wales, STV North, Parts of STV Central and Central 2010
Remainder of STV Central, Anglia, Yorkshire, Anglia 2011
London, Meridian, Tyne Tees and Ulster 2012

More details can be found here: http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/en/where.html

Abi - there are more details about why some households can receive Channel 5 here: http://www.five.tv/aboutfive/gettingfive/technical/coverage/

But a snippet I've picked out which sort of explains it is:

The power we can radiate from our non channel 37 sites is restricted, in many cases, to prevent interference with any of the other four networks. Two Channel 4 and four BBC transmitters had their channel allocations changed to allow Five to transmit without causing interference.

We were later allowed to use channel 35 as well, resulting in another 9 high power transmitters being added within about 6 months of launch. We have continued to add transmitters where frequencies have been available. We currently operate from 47 sites around the UK.

How does this affect coverage? Current predictions show that over 80% of households are served by one or more Five transmitter.

The majority of homes in our coverage area are able to simply tune into our signal and receive a good picture via their existing aerial. Others however, will require a replacement or additional aerial.

There are a number of reasons for this, the main ones being:

Although you may be in an area covered by our signal, the existing aerial is not 'looking' at the transmitter carrying Five. One solution is to install an additional aerial and combine the two. Or, if a suitable signal for the other four networks is available from the same location as Five, it may be preferable to have one new replacement aerial.

The existing aerial is pointed at the correct transmitter, but is not designed to receive the frequency used by Five. The first four networks were allocated channels close to each other at each transmitter site to enable one aerial to receive all channels. In Lincolnshire for example, the other four networks were allocated channels 22, 28, 25 and 32. Five however, has been allocated channel 56 and is only allowed to use one tenth of the power used by the other 4 networks. This means that the performance of Five via existing aerials in the Lincolnshire area is very poor.

The 44 UHF channels are arranged in 'Groups' from A to D. In a number of areas the only channel available for Five was on a very different frequency to the first four, and thus 'out of group'. If your house is in an area of very high signal strength, i.e. close to a transmitter, it is possible to obtain a strong enough signal for a watchable picture through an existing aerial even though the aerial may not have been designed to receive Five. In these cases a portable TV with a set top aerial may work well because the aerial is designed to be wide band and work over the full range of channels.

[Jessie Wallace]

Yeh i know it's not going to happens, Emz huni, but that was the original time we were given for it. So more annoyed now, what with it moving to 5, if they had things ready when they were meant to then i wouldn't miss it.

[megan999]

I am soooo gutted it's moving to Channel 5!!! I get crap reception on 5!!! And I'll bet they'll put adverts in the middle of it too :angry: