Omnibus (broadcast)

An omnibus (or omnibus edition) 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 (with the first episode having its closing credits removed, the final episode having the opening credits removed, and each episode in between lacking any credits whatsoever) 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.