How much longer will the show last

[adam436]

  On 04/02/2025 at 21:10, 630si said:

They did a bit for the 30th to be fair to them.

Resurrecting Martha, and the re-enactment of the Blake and Meg sunrise scene with Billie and VJ. Im sure there were more little easter eggs that year too. 

A subtle celebration if you will

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I also remember Channel 7 doing a tribute/retrospect type thing. I don't remember much about it though, other than Nicolle Dickson and Alex Papps turning up to a location shoot to surprise Ray Meagher. 

I do remember reading somewhere that the Martha story was meant to be considered a 30th anniversary story, just as I recall Sally's forgettable 2013 return was intended to mark the 25th anniversary. I can't find those quotes now though. 

[James Martin]

I wonder if they need to rationalise their episode counts in the way the British soaps are doing.

In the streaming era, 5 a week is a lot if you fall a bit behind and need to catch up.

[Red Ranger 1]

I think I'm right in saying that the UK soaps are reducing episodes for budget reasons rather than viewing habits. Unless I've missed a lot, Home and Away seems to be doing surprisingly well in that department. Anyway, I think, in the streaming era, watching multiple episodes of a series in one go is how a lot of people watch shows!

[adam436]

  On 07/02/2025 at 20:11, James Martin said:

I wonder if they need to rationalise their episode counts in the way the British soaps are doing.

In the streaming era, 5 a week is a lot if you fall a bit behind and need to catch up.

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Reducing to 4 episodes a week would probably suit Channel 7 scheduling to be honest so I'm surprised they haven't pushed for it before now. Hollyoaks, Neighbours and NZ's Shortland Street have all reduced their output in recent years. I can't speak for the other UK soaps, as I don't watch them, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens when the next Channel 5 contract is due for renewal. 

For Hollyoaks, I don't think it's been it's that successful storyline-wise. Several characters who survived the cast cull were sidelined because there wasn't enough air time for them, and the initial months were so slow that by the time the next Monday rolled around, I would forget some of what's happened.

 

  On 07/02/2025 at 21:02, Red Ranger 1 said:

I think I'm right in saying that the UK soaps are reducing episodes for budget reasons rather than viewing habits. 

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I think it's a catch 22. Viewing habits/ratings are changing, so therefore the budget (investment from networks/advertising revenue etc.) has reduced.

Hollyoaks pivoted to a streaming first model, so maybe that's something H&A could investigate. Their core demographic is now 18-39, who are probably more used to streaming episodes rather than "appointment television". H&A could still remain at 7pm weeknights for the audience who prefer to watch it there or are unable to access 7Plus. I guess given all the scheduling changes at Channel 7, it may become logistically difficult when the broadcast schedule differs from the 7Plus streaming release schedule. 

I also think Channel 7 would be too scared of losing ratings though, which would happen (though I don't know to what extent) if the episodes were released hours in advance on 7Plus. Unless Channel 7 wanted to use it an argument for moving H&A onto 7Two, so they can free up 7pm for their "premium" programming on Monday-Wednesday, and AFL on Thursdays. 

[630si]

  On 07/02/2025 at 20:11, James Martin said:

I wonder if they need to rationalise their episode counts in the way the British soaps are doing.

In the streaming era, 5 a week is a lot if you fall a bit behind and need to catch up.

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Nahhhh. They have quotas

[CaptainHulk]

Corrie could really benefit from shaving an hour. It's been dire at  3×1hr eps a week for a few years and it's really diluted it. 

[pembie]

I don’t think Corrie is that bad really much better than Home and Away in my opinion 

[CaptainHulk]

  On 10/02/2025 at 18:11, pembie said:

I don’t think Corrie is that bad really much better than Home and Away in my opinion 

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The main problems with Corrie (for me) are

- Characters fall into the same traps

- Every 5th Person now is a Villain or Dodgy or just Villain-Bait

- The writers Blatantly play favorites 

- Certain characters are untouchable

- Deadness of the Rovers compared to years ago

- The hour eps don't have the Sting they used to and are mostly filler.

So I stand by the "Less is More Argument".

[c120701]

  On 07/02/2025 at 21:02, Red Ranger 1 said:

I think I'm right in saying that the UK soaps are reducing episodes for budget reasons rather than viewing habits. Unless I've missed a lot, Home and Away seems to be doing surprisingly well in that department. 

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I wonder if the difference is that whereas UK soaps seem to think they need a cast of 60 to deliver 4-6 episodes a week, Home and Away do it with less than half that. I’ve never understood that need aside from when Corrie had a 10-strong aging legacy cast  so probably needed 30-40.

 

 

[cymbaline]

I have some older relatives who used to watch Corrie religiously and rarely missed an episode. A couple of them have given up watching altogether. Another one is just tuning in out of habit but says it's not very good these days. Maybe Corrie's producers don't want 70somethings watching any more but if they do, they're doing something wrong. Trying to churn out 4-6 episodes a week with a large cast is quite the undertaking and I can't see it being sustainable. Home and Away's tighter ship looks like it's standing them in good stead. The golden age of soaps is long gone and none of them will ever get the audiences they once had. Corrie could do worse than to return to its roots and become a smaller, better-written character-based drama. 

Already this year, Neighbours has been canned (again), and the BBC has axed River City. Perhaps having Stefan Dennis on the books is a bad luck thing. I can see other smaller soaps being cancelled over the coming years. I don't care for modern-day Home and Away but the producers are obviously doing something right. It's the ultimate shape-shifting soap which isn't tied to a formula as such. Maybe that's what keeps it relevant to its audience.