Home and Away mug

Home and Away is an Australian weeknightly half-hour television soap opera produced in Sydney by the Seven Network since January 1988. It is broadcast on the Seven Network and its affiliates in Australia and is exported to many countries, most notably the United Kingdom, where it briefly became the subject of a bidding war between ITV and Five which Five won. The show has more overall viewers in the larger UK market than it has in its home market, but a higher proportion of viewers in Australia, due to Australia's smaller population base, making it the highest rating locally produced drama. Furthermore, many fans believe the shift in the UK from ITV to Five damaged its popularity. Contract obligations sent it off air in the UK for a year and the smaller audience share Five has means the show now rates significantly lower than it did on ITV (though it is Five's second highest rated show) and its ratings are less than half of BBC1's Neighbours. Five funds more than half of the production costs. It has run since January 1988 and is still in production. Australian Broadcast Home and Away is broadcast in Australia on weekdays at 7:00 p.m.. The show airs for 46 weeks each year (except for occassions where worldwide events take priority such as tennis and Olympic Games). Each new season begins on the second Monday in January (an exception to this was the 2006 season where it returned on the third Monday), and the season finale airs on the last Friday in November. During the broadcast there are three ad-breaks and immediately following the broadcast of each episode is a short promotional trailer for the next episode. Repeat episodes of the series were broadcast between 1999 and 2002, with a one-year break in 2000. The first 623 episodes (except for Episode 469, which was overlooked when Seven were showing the tennis in September 2001) were shown in this run, before it was taken off in May 2002, and so far has never returned. International Broadcasts As of 2006, in the UK, the show is broadcast weekdays at 6:00 p.m., (repeated 12.00 p.m. weekdays) on Five. An omnibus edition aired on Saturday mornings when that weeks episodes are all repeated. As of October 2005, there has been no airing of this programme. In New Zealand, the show is broadcast weekdays at 5:30 p.m., (repeated 10.30 AM on weekdays and an omnibus airs on Sundays at 10:15 AM). 1996 episodes are currently shown on Prime TV at 3:30 p.m. weekdays. In Ireland the show is broadcast weekdays at 1:25 p.m. on RTÉ One and repeated at 6:30 p.m. on RTÉ Two regulary getting into the top 5 ratings for that week. Other countries that broadcast Home and Away include: Belgium on Kanaal Twee; Denmark; Estonia; Iceland; Israel; Lithuania; Norway; Poland; South Africa; Sweden; France.