Why Amazon saved Neighbours

The prolonged outcry from Neighbours fans drove Amazon Freevee’s decision to save the Australian soap, according to chiefs.

Amazon Studios’ head of original content Lauren Anderson and head of licenced content for the UK Shahina O’Mahoney said the passionate response to Channel 5’s decision to scrap the show was at the heart of the decision to make it Freevee’s first flagship UK project following its launch last autumn.

“As time went on, the fan’s reaction to the show ending didn’t lessen,” said O’Mahoney. “There are very few shows that get a reaction like that.”

Neighbours bowed out with a high of 4m (20.8%) after 28-days, having averaged 500,000 (4%) over the year.

Picking up the 37 year-old soap chimes with Freevee’s strategy to explore established IP with existing fanbases.

“People grew up with Neighbours - it’s part of the TV fabric of the UK,” O’Mahoney said. “We can’t save every show, but we chose this one because of how deeply its fans cared about it.”

Following C5’s announcement in March, Freevee approached Fremantle with the offer of a revival that would preserve the core aspects of the original series – including the retention of key cast members - and a budget roughly in line with its existing level.

Keeping the show available free-to-air was another crucial part of the decision-making process, with Amazon opting against airing it on its Prime Video SVoD platform.

Set to return in the latter half of 2023, Neighbours will continue to air episodically, rather than dropping as a boxset, with discussions underway as to how many episodes will be released each week.

“First and foremost, we have to keep current fans happy,” explained Anderson. ”Then we can introduce the series to new audiences.” 

O’Mahoney added: “We’ve got people on the ground ensuring that Neighbours loses none of the essence that makes it great.”

Freevee has a number of daily shows, including US reality original series Judy Justice, helping inspire confidence for a smooth transition.

“We’re always looking to surprise our customers and who would have expected a soap on Freevee?” she said. “It’s not going to be the last soap-style show we have.”

Freevee is also working up a remake of Channel 4 comedy Friday Night Dinner, produced by Big Talk and CBS Studios as it ramps up investment in local ideas.