Omnibus (broadcast)

An omnibus is a compilation of several television or radio episodes into a single instalment. An omnibus is similar to, but distinct from, what is called a marathon in other countries; In an omnibus, individual episodes are edited together into a single programme, whereas in a marathon the episodes are aired separately but in sequence. The term has been most frequently used in the United Kingdom, though it has also been used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Brookside was the first television soap to have what was called an omnibus edition, in 1982; it continued until the series stopped showing the weekly prime time episodes in 2002 and the series moved to what was the omnibus slot to become extended episodes before ending a year later. EastEnders introduced the equivalent of an omnibus edition starting in 1985, but the term "omnibus" was not used until the 1990s.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, many soap operas have been regularly repeated in omnibus format; For example, both EastEnders and Hollyoaks air on weekends in an omnibus edition that compiles episodes previously aired during the week. Serials such as The Sarah Jane Adventures and Dead Set have been presented as complete storylines in this format.
Omnibus formatting has also been used on home video; for example, the first home video releases of Doctor Who from BBC Studios Distribution re-formatted each serial into a "feature-length adventure".
Programmes that are or have been transmitted in omnibus format in the UK include:
Television:

Programme	Years	Channel
Brookside	1982–2002 1995–2001	Channel 4 UK Living
Coronation Street	1989–2011 2012–2023 1996–2004	ITV ITV2 Granada Plus
Doctor Who	1971–1977 1992-2007 2008 2013 2015	BBC One UK Gold Drama
EastEnders	1985–2015 2016–2018 1992–2001	BBC One W UK Gold
Emmerdale	2000–present 2004–present	ITV2 ITV3
The Bill	1992–2001	UK Gold
Hollyoaks	1995–present 2001–present	Channel 4 E4
Home and Away	1999–2000 1999–2002 2001–2005 2006–present 2015	ITV2 UK Living Channel 5 5Star Viva
Neighbours	1993–2001 2008–2022 2015	UK Gold 5STAR Viva

Radio:

Programme	Years	Channel
The Archers	1952-64 1964-67 1967-present	BBC Light Programme BBC Home Service BBC Radio 4

Internet:

''EastEnders: E20''

Other countries

The Bill Coronation Street on CBC Television Shortland Street on TV2 Isidingo on SABC 3 Generations on SABC 1 7de Laan on SABC 2

United States

SoapNet in the United States also utilized the omnibus format for weekend re-airings of their major soap operas until its December 2013 demise; however, the term used in that case is as a marathon as all five weekday programmes aired by a soap per week were aired consecutively without editing them together. As all four current American soaps also carry their episodes either via Hulu or through network websites, omnibuses and marathons are no longer maintained for the format on any cable or broadcast network.
In the 2006–07 television season, the new network MyNetworkTV launched with four telenovelas, formatted with five episodes airing each weekday, then a 'highlights', or 'recap' omnibus episode on Saturday evenings. However, the entire debut format flopped, and by the time the network started its third cycle of telenovelas, they were reduced to weekly episodes, negating the need for an omnibus episode altogether.