I wouldn’t dismiss the editor as “not liking” Neighbours. Whether we might like it or not the show has a very limited audience here and if the editor is looking for covers that resonate enough to increase or maximise sales they may choose otherwise. We all (myself included) roll our eyes at Home And Away covers/coverage but i would suspect they must have compelling circulation data to drive those decisions. Same reason TV Week had so many Georgie Parker covers back in the day. She must have been circulation gold.
And like women’s mags back in the old days, if they could get away with putting Princess Diana on the cover each week they would as she was a sales magnet.