SOAPnet
Encyclopedia
SOAPnet is an American
cable television
channel that broadcasts current and past soap opera
s and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group
, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
. The channel does not have a high definition simulcast.
Disney-ABC announced that SOAPnet is expected to cease operations in February 2012, with Disney Junior
to replace it in its channel space.
soap operas in the evening and early morning, so that people who worked during the day could watch at their convenience; programming was inclusive, as the channel is owned by ABC. SOAPnet has high cable coverage due to Disney
's aggressive policy of pulling ABC-owned broadcast stations
and the popular ESPN
channels from cable companies if they wouldn't agree to carry SOAPnet as well; this was the main reason for WABC-TV
being pulled from Time Warner Cable
's New York City
system for two days in May 2000.http://archives.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/02/time.warner.02
When SOAPnet was announced, there were plans by Sony Pictures Entertainment
to launch a competing channel and website called SoapCity
, which would air all of the CBS
soap operas and NBC
's Days of our Lives
, a Sony-owned/produced
show. The plans for the cable channel were abandoned early in 2000 after Sony failed to acquire cable carriage, though the website component remained.
SOAPnet's inaugural lineup aired current soaps such as All My Children
, One Life to Live
, and General Hospital
, plus canceled daytime and nighttime soaps such as Port Charles
, Falcon Crest
, Knots Landing
, The Colbys
, Hotel
, Sisters
, and Ryan's Hope
.
As the years went on, SOAPnet tried its hand at original programming, such as Soap Center and Soap Talk
, the latter of which has been nominated for many Daytime Emmy awards
, most recently in 2006 for Best Talk Show Host(s). Soap Center, which debuted the same day in early 2000 as SOAPnet, was initially hosted by former soap stars Brooke Alexander
and David Forsyth
, but a year later, they were replaced by Peggy Bunker discussing East Coast soaps and Tanika Ray
discussing West Coast soaps. By 2003, Peggy was let go; soon after, the show ceased filming original material. Other original series include 1 Day With
, a half-hour of General Hospital star Wally Kurth
interviewing soap actors; I Wanna Be a Soap Star
, a recurring reality series which gives twelve young actors the opportunity to compete for a contract on a daytime soap; and Soapography, a 30-minute show profiling the lives and current shows of two different soap opera actors.
In 2002, SOAPnet began airing reruns of Dynasty
, and by 2003, the channel added highly requested programming, such as reruns of Another World
and Dallas
, replacing Falcon Crest
, The Colbys
, Hotel
and Sisters
. In 2004, SOAPnet acquired same-day episodes of Days of our Lives
, began airing reruns of Melrose Place that September, added Beverly Hills, 90210
the following January, and offered same-day episodes of The Young and the Restless
beginning on April 24, 2006.
Ryan's Hope
, which had not been seen since its 1989 cancellation, was shown from its 1975 debut through the late 1981 episodes. At this time, many viewers who did not have SOAPnet at its inception petitioned for a rebroadcast of the show from the very beginning. In 2003, the channel aired the first episodes starting on St. Patrick's Day.
From time to time, the channel airs past episodes in thematic format, such as Daytime's Most Unforgettable Weddings, spotlighting the best episodes of popular couples on the ABC soaps. Other thematic blocks of episodes aired have included the "Sonnylicious!" marathon, showcasing the best of Maurice Benard
in his role on General Hospital, and the "Tad the Cad" marathon, with classic episodes of All My Children from the 1980s, in which the character Tad Martin, played by Michael E. Knight
, beds Liza Colby and then her mother, Marian, in quick succession. This is usually limited to the series to which they have rebroadcast rights (ABC's lineup, Days, and Y&R). However in a lead-up to the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards
, the channel showed episodes of soaps that showcased performances that garnered award-nominating attention — including those from Guiding Light
and As the World Turns
— a first for the channel. On Labor Day (September 3) 2007, an O.C.
marathon called "Summer Spice" was aired showing Summer's
metamorphoses throughout the series.
Since the channel is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney company, special deals have been made to broadcast events from the annual ABC Super Soap Weekend
, which is held every November at Walt Disney World, and in the summer at Disney's California Adventure
. Lisa Rinna
and Ty Treadway
from Soap Talk
have hosted question and answer sessions at the events, allowing fans to ask questions of their favorite soap stars.
In January 2005, the channel began to air the Fox
dramas Beverly Hills, 90210
and Melrose Place, and in the spring of that year aired repeats of short-lived nighttime soaps The Monroes
and Skin
. In 2004, SOAPnet reran a short-lived '80s soap called Paper Dolls
, and in July 2005, it picked up the Fox primetime soap Pasadena
, including nine episodes not aired during the show's initial run in the fall.
Some viewers complained about what they viewed as an overabundance of primetime programming, some of which (90210 and Melrose Place) had been out of original broadcast for only a few years and had been repeated on other networks. These fans also objected to the large amount of new episodes of the ABC lineup and Days, and have repeatedly requested rebroadcast of old daytime soaps such as Loving
(which Disney/ABC have the rights to), The Edge of Night
, Santa Barbara
, and Search for Tomorrow
.
On March 16, 2006, SOAPnet announced that it had finally acquired the rights to daytime ratings winner The Young and the Restless
and began airing it in April — making it the first CBS network soap to air on the channel. Repeats of the current day's episode air at 7:00 pm Eastern/6:00 pm Central.
On February 7, 2007, SOAPnet announced that it would be picking up the reruns of The O.C.
and One Tree Hill
. The syndication deal also gave SOAPnet the ability to pick up a fifth season of One Tree Hill at the time if The CW
chose not to renew the show. The show has since been continued on into the 2011-12 season on The CW for a ninth and final season.
In November 2007, Deborah Blackwell
left her position as general manager; ABC Daytime
president Brian Frons
has assumed her duties.
In August 2008, it was revealed that SOAPnet had lost the rights to air both Dallas
and Melrose Place, and would discontinue airing the two shows in September.
In 2009, the channel started further expanding their acquired programming; it began airing Greg Behrendt
's Wake Up Call, a program which was originally set to air on ABC in the 2006-2007 season, but never found a place on their schedule. After airing the CBC
series MVP
(canceled by the CBC due to low ratings) in 2008, SOAPnet also acquired the rights for the American broadcast beginning in February 2009 of the show Being Erica, which began in January on the CBC.
According to the latest figures from Nielsen Media Research, the network is in 75,259,000 homes as of December 2010, representing a distribution gain of 4 million homes since May 2009.
Disney-ABC announced in 2010 that SOAPnet would be closed in January 2012 and replaced with Disney Junior
, which was the rebranding for the Playhouse Disney
block on Disney Channel
. Reasons for the closure of SOAPnet are due to the network's low ratings, the cancellation of many soap operas, video on demand
catalogs both via cable providers and Internet television
providers such as ABC's Hulu
, and digital video recorder
s reducing the need for a linear network devoted to the format. On July 28, 2011, Soap Opera Digest
announced that the closure of SOAPnet, that was planned for January 2012, was pushed to Spring 2012. Then, in September 2011, the closure was pushed back to February 2012.
, One Life to Live
and General Hospital
air on the channel in the same order that they air on ABC, with AMC airing first, followed by OLTL and GH. All My Children has the most airings on the channel airing four times each weekday, one in the morning and three at night. Rebroadcasts of each soap's episodes for the entire week air each Saturday and Sunday during the late afternoon and nighttime hours; though currently the channel does not replay the previous week's episodes of Days of our Lives
as the channel airs movies in the Sunday primetime hours where it had previously aired.
Due to being owned by The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC, SOAPnet cross-promotes ABC's soap operas (using the tagline "weekdays on ABC and weeknights on SOAPnet") in promos on both networks, and references to The Young and the Restless
and Days of our Lives airing on their respective networks (CBS
and NBC
) are generally not included in the channel's promos, instead only advertising their airings on SOAPnet.
The channel airs primetime drama series such as One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls and Beverly Hills, 90210 each weekday during the late morning and afternoon hours, and between 6:00 am Eastern/5:00 am Central and 3:00 pm Eastern/2:00 pm Central on weekends with the weekend block being branded "Breakfast in Bed".
of General Hospital
entitled General Hospital: Night Shift
, which aired for two seasons from July 2007 to October 2008.
to air a package of recent films from their library and some archived content during weekend evenings, along with several 20th Century Fox
films and some in ABC and ABC Family
's telefilm archive appropriate for the network's viewership. The network discontinued airing films in 2011 as the network's operations began to wind down, with much of its film library migrating to LMN
, which is partially owned by Disney through A&E Television Networks
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
channel that broadcasts current and past soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group
Disney-ABC Television Group
Disney-ABC Television Group manages all of The Walt Disney Company's worldwide entertainment and news television properties...
, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. The channel does not have a high definition simulcast.
Disney-ABC announced that SOAPnet is expected to cease operations in February 2012, with Disney Junior
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is a current program block on Disney Channel and an upcoming American basic cable and satellite television network intended to replace SOAPnet in February 2012. It began airing on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney....
to replace it in its channel space.
2000-2004
By the time SOAPnet first aired on January 20, 2000, the channel aired only current ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
soap operas in the evening and early morning, so that people who worked during the day could watch at their convenience; programming was inclusive, as the channel is owned by ABC. SOAPnet has high cable coverage due to Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's aggressive policy of pulling ABC-owned broadcast stations
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
and the popular ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
channels from cable companies if they wouldn't agree to carry SOAPnet as well; this was the main reason for WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
being pulled from Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
's New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
system for two days in May 2000.http://archives.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/02/time.warner.02
When SOAPnet was announced, there were plans by Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
to launch a competing channel and website called SoapCity
SoapCity
A division of Sony Pictures Digital, SoapCity was the home to the official websites for the American daytime soap operas Days of our Lives and The Young and the Restless....
, which would air all of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
soap operas and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
, a Sony-owned/produced
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
show. The plans for the cable channel were abandoned early in 2000 after Sony failed to acquire cable carriage, though the website component remained.
SOAPnet's inaugural lineup aired current soaps such as All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
, One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
, and General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
, plus canceled daytime and nighttime soaps such as Port Charles
Port Charles
Port Charles was a daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from June 2, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It is a spin-off of the serial General Hospital, which has been running since 1963 and takes place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York...
, Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
, Knots Landing
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
, The Colbys
The Colbys
The Colbys is an American prime time soap opera, which originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985 to March 26, 1987. The Aaron Spelling-produced series was a spin-off of Dynasty, which had been the highest rated series for the 1984-1985 U.S. television season...
, Hotel
Hotel (TV series)
Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty....
, Sisters
Sisters (TV series)
Sisters is a television drama which aired on NBC for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996. The series was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who also created the Showtime series Queer as Folk and wrote the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award winning drama An Early Frost, also for NBC...
, and Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
.
As the years went on, SOAPnet tried its hand at original programming, such as Soap Center and Soap Talk
Soap Talk
Soap Talk was a television talk show on SOAPnet hosted by Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway. It debuted in 2002 and ended in 2006. The reason for the show's cancellation was due to SOAPnet expanding their programming away from a soap opera-related focus to expand their network's ratings and declining...
, the latter of which has been nominated for many Daytime Emmy awards
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
, most recently in 2006 for Best Talk Show Host(s). Soap Center, which debuted the same day in early 2000 as SOAPnet, was initially hosted by former soap stars Brooke Alexander
Brooke Alexander
Brooke Alexander is an American actress. She is best known for her role as con-artist Samantha Markham on As the World Turns .Alexander was born in Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii. She attended college at UCLA....
and David Forsyth
David Forsyth (actor)
David Forsyth is an American soap opera actor. He was born in Long Beach, California.David Forsyth was given several soap opera roles to play in rapid succession: T.J. Canfield on Texas , Hogan McCleary on Search for Tomorrow and John Hudson on Another World...
, but a year later, they were replaced by Peggy Bunker discussing East Coast soaps and Tanika Ray
Tanika Ray
Tanika Ray is an American television personality. She was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Los Angeles. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Arts from Spelman College in Atlanta and studied theater at New York University....
discussing West Coast soaps. By 2003, Peggy was let go; soon after, the show ceased filming original material. Other original series include 1 Day With
1 Day With
1 Day With is an American reality series which premiered on Soapnet in September 2004. Soap actor Wally Kurth follows a daytime soap actor around throughout their day...
, a half-hour of General Hospital star Wally Kurth
Wally Kurth
Wally Kurth is an American singer and television performer. He is best known for his work on the soap opera General Hospital as the second Ned Ashton, which he portrayed from 1993 until 2007, and for his role as Justin Kiriakis on Days of our Lives a role he created in 1987 and played until he...
interviewing soap actors; I Wanna Be a Soap Star
I Wanna Be a Soap Star
I Wanna Be a Soap Star is a reality television series which debuted on the cable channel SOAPnet in 2004. The show is hosted by All My Children star and ex-Dancing with the Stars participant, Cameron Mathison. It is based on the British reality series Soapstars.-I Wanna Be a Soap Star:The first...
, a recurring reality series which gives twelve young actors the opportunity to compete for a contract on a daytime soap; and Soapography, a 30-minute show profiling the lives and current shows of two different soap opera actors.
In 2002, SOAPnet began airing reruns of Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
, and by 2003, the channel added highly requested programming, such as reruns of Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
and Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
, replacing Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
, The Colbys
The Colbys
The Colbys is an American prime time soap opera, which originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985 to March 26, 1987. The Aaron Spelling-produced series was a spin-off of Dynasty, which had been the highest rated series for the 1984-1985 U.S. television season...
, Hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
and Sisters
Sisters (TV series)
Sisters is a television drama which aired on NBC for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996. The series was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who also created the Showtime series Queer as Folk and wrote the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award winning drama An Early Frost, also for NBC...
. In 2004, SOAPnet acquired same-day episodes of Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
, began airing reruns of Melrose Place that September, added Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
the following January, and offered same-day episodes of The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
beginning on April 24, 2006.
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
, which had not been seen since its 1989 cancellation, was shown from its 1975 debut through the late 1981 episodes. At this time, many viewers who did not have SOAPnet at its inception petitioned for a rebroadcast of the show from the very beginning. In 2003, the channel aired the first episodes starting on St. Patrick's Day.
From time to time, the channel airs past episodes in thematic format, such as Daytime's Most Unforgettable Weddings, spotlighting the best episodes of popular couples on the ABC soaps. Other thematic blocks of episodes aired have included the "Sonnylicious!" marathon, showcasing the best of Maurice Benard
Maurice Benard
Maurice Benard is an American actor. He is known primarily for his portrayal of romantic mobster Michael "Sonny" Corinthos, Jr. on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital, a role he has portrayed since 1993.-Career:...
in his role on General Hospital, and the "Tad the Cad" marathon, with classic episodes of All My Children from the 1980s, in which the character Tad Martin, played by Michael E. Knight
Michael E. Knight
- Biography :Knight is best known for playing Tad Martin on the soap opera All My Children. His first stint on the show ran from 1982–1986. He returned from 1988–1990, and again from 1992 until the series finale in 2011...
, beds Liza Colby and then her mother, Marian, in quick succession. This is usually limited to the series to which they have rebroadcast rights (ABC's lineup, Days, and Y&R). However in a lead-up to the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards
33rd Daytime Emmy Awards
The 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards, commemorating excellence in American daytime programming from 2005, was held on Friday, April 28, 2006 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. This was the first time that the Daytime Emmys were held outside of New York. ABC televised the ceremonies in the United States...
, the channel showed episodes of soaps that showcased performances that garnered award-nominating attention — including those from Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
and As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
— a first for the channel. On Labor Day (September 3) 2007, an O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
marathon called "Summer Spice" was aired showing Summer's
Summer Roberts
Summer Roberts is a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C., portrayed by Rachel Bilson.-Background:Summer Roberts grew up in Newport Beach, California, with her wealthy father, Dr. Neil Roberts...
metamorphoses throughout the series.
Since the channel is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney company, special deals have been made to broadcast events from the annual ABC Super Soap Weekend
Super Soap Weekend
ABC Super Soap Weekend was an event, organized in conjunction with Disney and ABC to bring soap opera actors from the various ABC shows to visit and mingle with their fans....
, which is held every November at Walt Disney World, and in the summer at Disney's California Adventure
Disney's California Adventure
Disney California Adventure, or simply California Adventure, is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001 as Disney's California Adventure Park. The park is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and...
. Lisa Rinna
Lisa Rinna
Lisa Deanna Rinna is an American television host and actress. She is known for her roles as Billie Reed on Days of our Lives, Taylor McBride on Melrose Place, and most recently as the host of SoapNet's Soap Talk.-Acting:...
and Ty Treadway
Ty Treadway
Tyrus Richard "Ty" Treadway is a game show host, actor and talk show host. Treadway had co-hosted Soap Talk with Lisa Rinna.-Biography:Ty was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey to Richard and Mary Lou Treadway...
from Soap Talk
Soap Talk
Soap Talk was a television talk show on SOAPnet hosted by Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway. It debuted in 2002 and ended in 2006. The reason for the show's cancellation was due to SOAPnet expanding their programming away from a soap opera-related focus to expand their network's ratings and declining...
have hosted question and answer sessions at the events, allowing fans to ask questions of their favorite soap stars.
2005-present
In January 2005, the channel began to air the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
dramas Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
and Melrose Place, and in the spring of that year aired repeats of short-lived nighttime soaps The Monroes
The Monroes
The Monroes can represent any of the following:* The Monroes , 1966-67 ABC series starring Michael Anderson, Jr. and Barbara Hershey * The Monroes , 1995 ABC series starring Susan Sullivan and William Devane...
and Skin
Skin (TV series)
Skin is a television serial drama which aired at 9:00 p.m. Monday on Fox in 2003. It followed the tale of two teenagers who came from feuding families on opposite sides of the moral and legal spectrum. Adam is the son of the Los Angeles District Attorney, and Jewel is the daughter of a pornographer...
. In 2004, SOAPnet reran a short-lived '80s soap called Paper Dolls
Paper Dolls
Paper Dolls is an American prime time soap opera which aired for 14 episodes on ABC from September 23, 1984 to December 25, 1984. Set in New York's fashion industry, the show centered around top modeling agency owner Racine , her conflicts with the family of cosmetics tycoon Grant Harper , and the...
, and in July 2005, it picked up the Fox primetime soap Pasadena
Pasadena (TV series)
Pasadena is an American primetime soap opera originally broadcast in the U.S. from September to November 2001 on Fox.-Summary:The series starred Alison Lohman as Lily McAllister, an initially naïve young woman who witnesses a stranger's suicide and begins to investigate the secrets being hidden by...
, including nine episodes not aired during the show's initial run in the fall.
Some viewers complained about what they viewed as an overabundance of primetime programming, some of which (90210 and Melrose Place) had been out of original broadcast for only a few years and had been repeated on other networks. These fans also objected to the large amount of new episodes of the ABC lineup and Days, and have repeatedly requested rebroadcast of old daytime soaps such as Loving
Loving (TV series)
Caden Grant Carlton loves Mika Ayako Ryan more.Loving is an American television soap opera which aired on ABC's daytime lineup from June 26, 1983 to November 10, 1995 for 3,169 episodes...
(which Disney/ABC have the rights to), The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...
, and Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
.
On March 16, 2006, SOAPnet announced that it had finally acquired the rights to daytime ratings winner The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
and began airing it in April — making it the first CBS network soap to air on the channel. Repeats of the current day's episode air at 7:00 pm Eastern/6:00 pm Central.
On February 7, 2007, SOAPnet announced that it would be picking up the reruns of The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
and One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
. The syndication deal also gave SOAPnet the ability to pick up a fifth season of One Tree Hill at the time if The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
chose not to renew the show. The show has since been continued on into the 2011-12 season on The CW for a ninth and final season.
In November 2007, Deborah Blackwell
Deborah Blackwell
Deborah Blackwell is an American television network executive who was primarily responsible for the rise of soap opera centric cable network, SOAPnet, having joined as general manager in 2001....
left her position as general manager; ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...
president Brian Frons
Brian Frons
Brian Frons is an American television executive, and president of ABC Daytime.- Educational background :Frons holds a Master of Science degree in Communications from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the State University of New York at Fredonia.-Television...
has assumed her duties.
In August 2008, it was revealed that SOAPnet had lost the rights to air both Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
and Melrose Place, and would discontinue airing the two shows in September.
In 2009, the channel started further expanding their acquired programming; it began airing Greg Behrendt
Greg Behrendt
Gregory Behrendt is an American stand-up comedian and author. His work as a script consultant to the HBO sitcom Sex and the City, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, paved the way for co-authoring of the New York Times bestseller He's Just Not That into You , later adapted into a film by the same name...
's Wake Up Call, a program which was originally set to air on ABC in the 2006-2007 season, but never found a place on their schedule. After airing the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
series MVP
MVP (TV series)
MVP is a 2008 Canadian television series that debuted January 11, 2008 on CBC Television....
(canceled by the CBC due to low ratings) in 2008, SOAPnet also acquired the rights for the American broadcast beginning in February 2009 of the show Being Erica, which began in January on the CBC.
According to the latest figures from Nielsen Media Research, the network is in 75,259,000 homes as of December 2010, representing a distribution gain of 4 million homes since May 2009.
Disney-ABC announced in 2010 that SOAPnet would be closed in January 2012 and replaced with Disney Junior
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is a current program block on Disney Channel and an upcoming American basic cable and satellite television network intended to replace SOAPnet in February 2012. It began airing on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney....
, which was the rebranding for the Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney was Disney Channel's television block for programs aimed at entertaining preschool aged children, often airing as its own channel outside the United States. It was introduced in 1997 after Disney Channel's move to basic cable from premium cable, with a target audience of children...
block on Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. Reasons for the closure of SOAPnet are due to the network's low ratings, the cancellation of many soap operas, video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
catalogs both via cable providers and Internet television
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
providers such as ABC's Hulu
Hulu
Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...
, and digital video recorder
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
s reducing the need for a linear network devoted to the format. On July 28, 2011, Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
announced that the closure of SOAPnet, that was planned for January 2012, was pushed to Spring 2012. Then, in September 2011, the closure was pushed back to February 2012.
Programming
Repeats of current soap operas make up the majority of SOAPnet's daily schedule, the channel usually airs three daily airings of the five network soaps it presently carries (the previous weekday's broadcasts airing weekday mornings from 6:00 am Eastern/5:00 am Central to 11:00 am Eastern/10:00 am Central, along with two same-day evening airings with one block from 6:00 pm Eastern/5:00 pm Central to 11:00 pm Eastern/10:00 pm Central and a repeat of the earlier block from 12:00 am Eastern/11:00 pm Central to 5:00 am Eastern/4:00 am Central). All My ChildrenAll My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
, One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
and General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
air on the channel in the same order that they air on ABC, with AMC airing first, followed by OLTL and GH. All My Children has the most airings on the channel airing four times each weekday, one in the morning and three at night. Rebroadcasts of each soap's episodes for the entire week air each Saturday and Sunday during the late afternoon and nighttime hours; though currently the channel does not replay the previous week's episodes of Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
as the channel airs movies in the Sunday primetime hours where it had previously aired.
Due to being owned by The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC, SOAPnet cross-promotes ABC's soap operas (using the tagline "weekdays on ABC and weeknights on SOAPnet") in promos on both networks, and references to The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
and Days of our Lives airing on their respective networks (CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
) are generally not included in the channel's promos, instead only advertising their airings on SOAPnet.
The channel airs primetime drama series such as One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls and Beverly Hills, 90210 each weekday during the late morning and afternoon hours, and between 6:00 am Eastern/5:00 am Central and 3:00 pm Eastern/2:00 pm Central on weekends with the weekend block being branded "Breakfast in Bed".
Original dramatic programming
The network only aired one dramatic series commissioned exclusively for the network, a prime-time spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
entitled General Hospital: Night Shift
General Hospital: Night Shift
General Hospital: Night Shift is an American prime time serial that first aired on SOAPnet for a 13-episode run from July 12, 2007 to October 4, 2007. A spin-off of the ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital, the show is SOAPnet's first original scripted drama series and follows the nighttime...
, which aired for two seasons from July 2007 to October 2008.
Movies
In late 2008, the network made a deal with Sony Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
to air a package of recent films from their library and some archived content during weekend evenings, along with several 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
films and some in ABC and ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
's telefilm archive appropriate for the network's viewership. The network discontinued airing films in 2011 as the network's operations began to wind down, with much of its film library migrating to LMN
Lifetime Movie Network
Lifetime Movie Network is a cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A&E Television Networks, LLC. A&E Television Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group, Hearst Corporation and NBCUniversal. LMN offers women-oriented movies...
, which is partially owned by Disney through A&E Television Networks
A&E Television Networks
A&E Television Networks is a U.S. media company that owns a group of television channels available via cable & satellite in the US and abroad...
.
See also
- ABC DaytimeABC DaytimeABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...
- List of DirecTV channels
- List of Dish Network channels
- CBS DaytimeCBS DaytimeCBS Daytime is a television programming block on CBS. It's the branding for the CBS Television Network's late morning and early afternoon programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows, and talk shows...
- NBC DaytimeNBC DaytimeNBC Daytime is the schedule for the NBC television network's daytime television programming which consists of morning news program Today and soap opera Days of our Lives...