Jabarkan Popularity and viewership dari Neighbours

Neighbours initially aired on Seven Network. It struggled to attract high ratings, leading to its cancellation by the network four months after it premiered.[11] The series was then picked up by Network Ten. After the usual break in broadcast over the summer non-ratings period, the series made its debut on Ten in 1986. Ten revamped the show, adding several new, younger cast members including Jason Donovan as Scott Robinson and Kylie Minogue as Charlene Mitchell. When the show began on Ten it initially attracted low ratings, so the Network worked hard to publicise the series.[157] Ten's publicity drive was designed to promote the show in a star-focused campaign recalling that of the Hollywood star system where stars were packaged to feed into a fan culture.[157][158] This paid off, and by the end of 1987, ratings had improved for the show.[159] The episode featuring Scott and Charlene's wedding achieved the highest ever ratings for Neighbours, and it became one of the highest rating soap episodes ever in Australia.[19] The same episode attracted 19.6 million viewers when it was aired in the United Kingdom.[160][161]

By the early 1990s, Australian audiences had decreased, although viewing figures had recovered slightly by the end of the decade.[162][163] In 1992, due to the decline in ratings, producers began to overhaul the show to win back viewers. They brought in more "fresh-faced teens", moved out older characters and gave some of their parent characters "un-neighborly [sic] subplots". Executive producer Ian Bradley said the changes were an attempt to return to the show's original concept.[164] In 1994, Network Ten told TV Week that they would be introducing a "younger, livelier look with six regular characters under the age of 18" in a bid to generate interest.[165] It was then that they introduced the characters of Stonefish Rebecchi, played by Anthony Engelman, and Serendipity Gottlieb, played by Raelee Hill.[165]

In 1996, Kimberley Davies, who played Annalise Hartman, quit the series. Then Caroline Gillmer fell ill and her character Cheryl Stark was temporarily recast with former Prisoner actress Colette Mann.[165] This made producers nervous that viewing figures might decrease, so they implemented a series of plots to keep viewers interested. These included a cameo from Clive James and an explosion, which destroyed the doctor's surgery in the Lassiter's complex.[165]