Over 10,000 petition to keep 'Neighbours' on the B

[simmins]

Fans of Daytime show, Neighbours have begun an online petition to keep the soap on the BBC.

Over 4,000 people have already signed the petition (Copy and Paste link below) calling on distributor Fremantle to "accept the BBC's offer to continue showing Neighbours," and warns the show will get less viewers and will loss viewers on another channel.

www.gopetition.com/petitions/keep-neighbours-on-the-bbc.html

Both ITV and Five are both believed to have made bids for the show. The BBC is currently thought to pay £25,000 an episode, but is understood to have offered to increase this to £70,000. ITV has reportedly offered up to £100,000 per episode.

Insiders at the BBC, which has shown the programme for 22 years, say the broadcaster is making plans to fill the two daytime slots which would be vacant from losing the soap. New acquisitions and original programming would be used in the 1.40pm and 5.35pm slots.

A decision on the Neighbours contract is expected imminently.

www.gopetition.com/petitions/keep-neighbours-on-the-bbc.html

[Nick]

I don't want Neighbours to stay on BBC 1 if they have to pay £104,000 per episode of License payers money per episode..Fremantle are greedy and they deserve to lose all their audience.

let them sell it to Channel 5 and lose all their audience in the UK...then see how much they will get for it...5 episodes for £10.00

[RitaLittlewood]

I tend to agree. As much as it's as part of BBC like EE, that money they're asking for is extortionate.

Patsy

[Nick]

i have read the petition...do you really think a commercial TV station like Fremantle will give two hoots about wether you sing the theme tune...TV is all about greed nowadays

[RitaLittlewood]

Damn right and it's the only real export of note, as I mentioned before, of the former great TV empire that was Grundy. It's not worth 50p these days.

Patsy