I don't watch Home & Away but the impression I get off it is that it is very white and very straight - which is one of the reasons it is popular in Oz.

I don't understand why Neighbours struggles in Oz, the show has been very good for the past 18 months now.

Hollyoaks may well be cancelled but the other three will survive- Corrie needs a kick up the backside though because SB is destroying the show.

Think it's possible that Neighbours struggles with being up against Home and Away always having been its main source of competition and also because of the current network that Neighbours is screening on - so the ratings are lower than where they previously have been and where the audience numbers were before.

A shame as the show has indeed improved dramatically in the last year or so - and although I follow Home and Away - I much prefer Neighbours and always have done. For the humour if nothing else, which Home and Away doesn't match in comparison, IMO.

In answer to the OP - most likely Hollyoaks in this country - will be the first to go in the next 10 years. The most likely one out of all of the British soaps, IMO.

Soap viewers in Australia are just fickle. They usually don't stick with a show for too long. H&A is the exception not the norm. Maybe they have continued to bring in the ratings due to converting from soap to crime/gang drama? Neighbours stayed as a domestic soap and Aussie audiences have just steadily drifted away. No matter how good the program is, people are unlikely to return in their masses with the show consigned to Eleven.

Neighbours is still connected to the Ten Network isn't it ?

Yes it is.

In answer to the op; yes the soaps will still be around but not based on their own merit.

Take EE as an example. Due to rebuilding the set the bbc has effectively committed to EE for at least the next decade. It is a decision I suspect the bbc will regret as EE will increasingly become a millstone around it's neck. This has become obvious as dtc is doing exactly what santer did before him: papering over the cracks. Problem is the cracks will still be there when he leaves.

Yes. 10 own the 11 network. It would be like if Channel 4 owned Neighbours here but they only showed it on E4 or More 4 not on the main channel. I think to get higher ratings it needs to go back on Channel 10 and only have repeats or first looks on 11.

The reason it was moved to Eleven in the first place was because of lower ratings on Ten. Yes, it rated higher than it does now but still not enough to justify it's timeslot

Neighbours was moved to Channel Eleven (E4 equivalent) because the quality had gone down and viewers were deserting it in droves. Its a shame because it is now significantly better, like the old days, but it seems the Aussie powers that be haven given up on it. At least it still does better than H&A here and deservedly so.

And the irony to that was that in 2010 500k viewers was considered to low for Ten, so they shunted Neighbours to digital channel Eleven. But their replacement show failed to pull in the very same numbers than got Neighbours moved! Fast-forward to 2012, and all of Ten's main shows start to rate 500k or less. Sometimes The Project has dipped into the 300-400k in the last year (and this aired at 7pm, now, I think it starts earlier), making the move of Neighbours look even more ridiculous.

Ten are badly managed and lack any real business sense. Even their ratings juggernaut, MasterChef Australia rated dismally for it's last season. Moving Neighbours back to Ten may actually help them. But, their pride would never let them. H&A has the full support of Seven, unlike Neighbours, which has no support from Ten; but their entire network is a mess, with Eleven suffering an identity crisis - Neighbours is keeping Eleven afloat.

Thank you Matthew i can always count on you

Exactly - pretty much agreed with this - that's the saving grace IMO - Neighbours still does better than H&A in the UK and pretty much always has done - deservedly so and glad that it does.

Not that there's anything wrong with H&A - I still follow it despite the crime and drama - but Neighbours is my preference and always has been.

This is all ironic stuff really with the Neighbours network move as has been pointed out the show has recently been back to its best and on a high again after its been going back to its original roots a lot more and the old day heyday and highlights, particularly in the last year or so.

No worries - great thread IMO.

I reckon Hollyoaks will be moved to E4 completely in 2017, and end in 2020

Corrie will be next, "retiring" on their 65th birthday in 2025

Eastenders and Doctors will end with the fall of the BBC in 2028.

And Emmerdale will end once ITV realises it isn't a reality TV show or celebrity game show In 2031.

Neighbours and Home and Away will end when Australians get wiped out by a killer mozzie in 2036.

Largely agree thats a significant possibility.

I also think ITV is overreliant on soaps as part of its business plan and if they start to falter as the genre of soap declines in popularity then there will likely be a situation were there will be ratings that mean shows present an impossible dilemma to tv execs.Hence they could be rating in a way were ITVs lucrative AD revenue is dented badly longterm but were it would be unwise to axe them.A kind of longterm limbo were axing or preserving the show carries huge negative consequences.

I don't watch the itv soaps so I can't comment but I would hazard a guess / hope that EastEnders will be around still in 2024 - though I think it may not be in the current 4 times a week incarnation. I feel it may be scaled back a bit - perhaps back to the original bi-weekly format (which would be no bad thing, actually) - if the ratings continue as they are.

I think we'll still have Corrie, Eastenders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks, yes Hollyoaks doesn't get the ratings or the attention that other soaps do but it has it's merits and a loyal fanbase that have just won it the Best Soap award at the BSA's and genuinely enjoy the storylines. It's not going anywhere.

Every soap has their ups and downs but I honestly cannot see any of them going SO downhill that they get cancelled in the next decade, They'd probably try and reduce costs and cut episodes before they went for a full cancellation. Especially as Eastenders and Corrie have just got expensive new sets

As for the australian soaps, I don't really watch them or follow them so I can't comment on that.

EastEnders is safe, BBC care about it A LOT! New set being built, will still be here in 10 years time, there's lots of characters that will be relevant in the future!

Corrie, probably safe aswell, been going 54 years though, I just don't think the show has a very clear future, however, it seems things are looking down for corrie now...

Emmerdale, not sure really, it's always going to be the third soap tbf, a lot of the younger generation aren't interested in the show at all, so that's a risky one!

Home and away is great, and can easily manage! Lovely aussie soap!

Don't watch neighbours so can't comment!

Hollyoaks will burn itself out, I imagine, too ott!

Doctors will probably be safe

I think Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Neighbours will stand the test of time.
Emmerdale, formerly a gentle rural soap, will be retitled Gangstas R Us, with a cast of murderers, thieves and sex addicts, and not a moo cow in sight.. Coronation Street will be taken off the air if it goes ahead with its plans to stage a 12 year old having sex.
Hollyoaks, Doctors, Holby City and Casualty have a 50/50 chance of still being on air.