Neighbours' future under threat as Australian network enters administration
The Ten Network's shareholders force the broadcaster into drastic action
Neighbours' future under threat as Australian network enters administration
Neighbours' Australian broadcaster Network Ten is entering voluntary administration, it was announced today.
The move comes after the company's key shareholders pulled out of guaranteeing a proposed $250 million loan, intended to replace an existing $200 million loan, due in December, which is said to have left directors with no choice but to voluntarily appoint advisory and investment firm KordaMentha as administrators of the company and its subsidiaries.
There will now be a financial and operational assessment of the business. A statement from the network said: "The directors of Ten regret very much these circumstances have come to pass... They wish Ten all success as the administrators look to the potential sale or recapitalisation of the business."
Ten, which launched in 1964 as a commercial network, has struggled in the Australian ratings in recent months against rival networks Seven and Nine, despite broadcasting high profile shows such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and MasterChef. The company posted a $232.2 million loss in April.
Neighbours, Australia's longest-running drama, started broadcasting on the network in 1986, having originally started on Seven in 1985. In 2011 it moved from airing on Channel 10, the company's main channel, to digital offshoot Eleven. The show has been broadcast in the UK on Channel 5 since 2008, after moving from the BBC.
RadioTimes.com has contacted FremantleMedia, who produce Neighbours, for comment on how this could impact the programme's future.
Neighbours continues weekdays on Channel 5 at 1.45pm and 5.30pm.
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