Soapnet
Country | United States |
---|---|
Broadcast area | United States |
Headquarters | Burbank, California[1] |
Ownership | |
Owner | Disney–ABC Television Group (The Walt Disney Company) |
History | |
Launched | January 20, 2000 |
Closed | March 22, 2012(some providers) December 31, 2013 (officially) |
Replaced by | Disney Junior |
Soapnet (stylized as SOAPnet) was an American
The network's programming was oriented towards the
Due in part to a general decline in the soap opera genre as a whole, and the growing adoption of
History
Early history (2000–2002)
When Soapnet launched on January 20, 2000, the channel aired only current ABC soap operas in the evening and early morning, so that people who were at work or school during the day could watch them at their convenience. Programming was inclusive, as the channel was owned by ABC. Soapnet eventually gained high cable carriage due to Disney's aggressive policy of pulling ABC-owned broadcast stations and the popular ESPN channels from cable providers if they did not agree to carry Soapnet as well. This was the main reason for ABC owned-and-operated station WABC-TV being pulled from Time Warner Cable's New York City system for two days in May 2000.[3]
When Soapnet was announced,
Soapnet's inaugural lineup aired current soaps such as
Other original series included 1 Day With, a half-hour program featuring interviews with soap actors, that was hosted by General Hospital actor Wally Kurth; I Wanna Be a Soap Star, a recurring reality series in which twelve young actors compete for a contract role on a daytime soap; and Soapography, a 30-minute show profiling the lives and current shows of two different soap opera actors.
Programming expansion (2002–2010)
In 2002, Soapnet began airing reruns of
In 2004, Soapnet acquired reruns of the short-lived 1980s soap Paper Dolls. In January 2005, the channel began airing reruns of the Fox dramas Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place; this was followed that spring with the addition of repeats of short-lived nighttime soaps The Monroes and Skin. In July 2005, it picked up the Fox primetime soap Pasadena, including nine episodes that were not aired during the show's initial run. On March 16, 2006, Soapnet announced that it had acquired the rights to broadcast same-day episodes of The Young and the Restless, which began airing on Soapnet on April 24, 2006 – making it the first CBS network soap to air on the channel.
Since the channel was a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, it also broadcast events from the annual ABC
Some viewers complained about what they viewed as an overabundance of prime-time programming on the channel, some of which (90210 and Melrose Place) had ended their original broadcast runs only a few years prior and had been repeated in syndication on other networks. These fans also objected to the large number of new episodes of the ABC lineup and Days of our Lives, and repeatedly requested rebroadcasts of old daytime soaps such as Loving, The Edge of Night, Santa Barbara, and Search for Tomorrow.
On February 7, 2007, Soapnet acquired the rights to air reruns of The O.C. and One Tree Hill. The syndication deal also gave Soapnet an option to order a fifth season of One Tree Hill to air on the channel in the event that The CW chose not to renew the show[4] (this option was never exercised as first-run episodes of One Tree Hill remained on The CW until the series ended in 2012).
In November 2007, Deborah Blackwell stepped down as general manager of the channel with then-ABC Daytime president Brian Frons assuming her duties. In August 2008, it was revealed that Soapnet had lost the broadcast rights for both Dallas and Melrose Place; both shows left the schedule that September.
In 2009, the channel started to further expand its acquired programming; and began airing Greg Behrendt's Wake Up Call, a program that was originally set to air on ABC during the 2006–07 season. After airing the CBC Television series MVP (which was canceled by the CBC due to low ratings) in 2008, Soapnet also acquired the rights for the American broadcast of the Canadian dramedy Being Erica (which began in January of that year on the CBC) beginning in February 2009. According to Nielsen Media Research, Soapnet was available to 75,259,000 cable and satellite subscribers in December 2010, an increase of 4 million subscribers from May 2009.
Decline and transition to Disney Junior (2010–2013)
Due to declining viewership in the genre, the Big Three networks had begun to cancel selected soaps and replace them with less-expensive
Disney–ABC Television Group head
On May 26, 2010, Disney Junior was officially announced as Disney Channels Worldwide's new preschool television brand. Replacing Playhouse Disney, Disney Junior would launch as a block on Disney Channel on February 14, 2011, and was to launch a 24-hour cable channel in January 2012, replacing Soapnet.[6][7] On July 28, 2011, due to issues in reaching carriage deals for the new network, the launch of the Disney Junior channel was delayed to an unspecified date in early 2012.[5] Disney Junior's launch date was later set to March 23, 2012. Disney also stated that on some providers, Disney Junior would be carried in parallel with Soapnet until the network is eventually phased out.[8] The Los Angeles Times reported that some television providers had been hesitant to immediately drop Soapnet, as they "didn't want to risk legions of vocal soap opera fans getting into a lather, or worse, moving to a rival service."[2]
On March 1, 2012, Soapnet's operations were taken over by ABC Family following the dismantling of the ABC Daytime corporate structure under Brian Frons, who had resigned in December 2011.
Some television providers, including certain
A 1-hour two-week
On January 15, 2013,
In November 2013, Disney announced that Soapnet would cease broadcasting altogether on December 31, 2013, after 13 years on air. on January 1, 2014, without ceremony.
Programming
Prior to the switch to an automated schedule, repeats of current soap operas made up the majority of Soapnet's daily schedule; the channel usually aired daily episodes of network soaps it had carried (the previous weekday's broadcasts airing weekday mornings from 6:00 to 11:00 a.m. ET, along with two same-day evening airings with one block from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. ET and a repeat of the earlier block from 12:00 to 5:00 a.m. ET). With the reduction to two first-run soaps on the schedule, from July 2013 up until Soapnet's cease in production, the timeslots in which same-day/day-behind repeats of the network soaps were reduced, with the two remaining first-run soaps airing on the channel – Days of Our Lives and General Hospital – airing in repeat blocks from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. ET.
Prior to ABC's cancellations of the former two series in 2011, daily reruns of All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital aired on the channel in that respective order as they had aired on ABC's daytime schedule. All My Children had 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 aired each Saturday and Sunday during the late afternoon and nighttime hours; as of 2012, the network aired the past week's episodes of Days of our Lives in Sunday primetime.
Due to it being owned by The Walt Disney Company, which also owns ABC, Soapnet cross-promoted All My Children and One Life to Live using the tagline "weekdays on ABC and weeknights on SOAPnet" when both shows aired on ABC.[21] The same slogan continued to be used in promotions for General Hospital until the week of April 30, 2012 (inclusively). After a three-month hiatus, the "weekdays on ABC and weeknights on SOAPnet" slogan was revived in August 2012, but was used only for General Hospital promos airing on Soapnet and not those seen on ABC. References to Days of our Lives's first-run airings on NBC (and until it was dropped from Soapnet in July 2013,[22] The Young and the Restless's first-run airings on CBS) were not included in the channel's promos, instead only advertising their telecasts on Soapnet.
The channel also aired primetime drama series such as One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls and Beverly Hills, 90210 each weekday during the late morning and afternoon hours, and as part of the "Breakfast in Bed" block between 6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET each weekend. Weekend morning marathons of ABC's cooking show The Chew (which had replaced All My Children on ABC) aired for a short time in December 2012 before being quickly dropped due to negative viewer reaction.
During the course of its lifetime, the channel occasionally aired past episodes in thematic format, such as Daytime's Most Unforgettable Weddings, spotlighting the best episodes of popular couples on ABC's soaps. Other thematic episode blocks included the "Sonnylicious!" marathon, featuring select episodes highlighting
Original dramatic programming
The network only aired one dramatic series produced exclusively for the network, a prime-time spin-off of General Hospital entitled General Hospital: Night Shift, which aired for two seasons from July 2007 to October 2008.[23]
Syndicated programming
This is a list of programs formerly broadcast by Soapnet prior to its cease in production.
NOTE: Programs broadcast by Soapnet before shutdown.
Final television shows
- All My Children (2000–2013)
- Beverly Hills, 90210 (2005–2013)
- Brothers & Sisters (2011–2013)
- Days of Our Lives (2004–2013)
- General Hospital (2000–2013)
- Gilmore Girls (2009–2013)
- Lifestories: Families in Crisis (2008–2013)
- One Life to Live (2000–2013)
- One Tree Hill (2007–2013)
- Veronica Mars (2012–2013)
- The Young and the Restless (2006–2013)
Former television shows
- 1 Day With... (2004-2005)
- Another World (2003–2011)
- Being Erica (2009–2012)
- The Colbys (2000–2003)
- Dallas (2003–2008)
- Dynasty (2002–2006)
- Falcon Beach (2006–2007)
- Falcon Crest (2000–2003)
- The Fashionista Diaries (2007)
- General Hospital: Night Shift (2007–2008)
- Greg Behrendt's Wake Up Call (2009)
- Holidate (2009)
- Hotel(2000–2003)
- I Wanna Be a Soap Star (2004–2007)
- Knots Landing (2000–2006)
- Melrose Place (2004–2008)
- The Monroes (2004)
- MVP (2008)
- The O.C. (2007–2012)
- Paper Dolls (2005)
- Pasadena (2005)
- Port Charles (2000–2009)
- Relative Madness (2008)
- Ryan's Hope (2000–2011)
- Sisters(2000–2003)
- Skin (2005)
- Soap Center (2000–2004)
- Soap Talk (2002–2006)
- Soapography (2004–2011)
- Search For Tomorrow(2006-2012)
- Southern Belles: Louisville (2009)
- They Started on Soaps (2003–2006)
Movies
In late 2008, the network entered into a distribution agreement with
See also
References
- ^ Hoovers.com address and telephone number for Soapnet headquarters in Burbank, California at the Walt Disney Studios
- ^ a b c d James, Meg (November 9, 2013). "Disney's SOAPnet channel headed for the drain". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ Entertainment ABC to return to Time Warner Cable Archived 2007-03-05 at the Wayback Machine CNN, May 3, 2000
- ^ "O.C", "Tree" Head to Soapnet, Variety.com, February 7, 2007
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie. "'Carrie' & 'Disney Moms' Among Rejected Ideas For SOAPNet: An Insider's Perspective On Net's Evolution & ABC Soaps' Demise". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
- from the original on 2022-08-07. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
- ^ Soapnet will go dark to make way for Disney Junior Archived 2010-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, Entertainment Weekly, May 26, 2010.
- ^ "Disney Junior to Replace SoapNet in March". TVGuide.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- Green Bay Press Gazette02 April 2012. Web. 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b Schneider, Michael (January 9, 2012). "Disney Junior to replace Soapnet in March". TV Guide. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
- ^ a b Villarreal, Yvonne. "Show Tracker: What You're Watching — Disney Junior 24/7 channel launches Friday Archived 2018-06-16 at the Wayback Machine." Los Angeles Times Blog 22 March 2012. Web. 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Update on Soapnet". ABC Soaps In Depth. March 1, 2012. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
- ^ "SOAPnet Presents Live Well Network Original Programming, Beg. Today, 7/30". Broadway World. Wisdom Digital Media. July 30, 2012. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ Farrell, Mike (January 15, 2013). "Disney Strikes U-Verse Carriage Deal". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (April 3, 2013). "'The Young and the Restless' Moves From Soapnet to TV Guide Network". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (June 10, 2013). "'The Young & the Restless' Moves to TVGN for Exclusive Basic Cable Airings Beginning Monday, July 1". Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
- ^ "Upcoming Contract Renewals". Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
- ^ "Channel Lineup Changes - Charter Communications". Charter Communications. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
- ^ "U-verse Programming Changes". Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ^ "Cox Residential Services | Official Site". Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
- ^ Lewis, Errol (2013-12-30). "THE FINAL DAYS OF SOAPnet: The Rise and Fall of A Cable Network". Soap Opera Network. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ "CBS Soaps In Depth" May 20, 2013
- ^ "Shows A-Z - general hospital: night shift on soapnet | TheFutonCritic.com". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
- ^ "Breaking News - Soapnet Acquires a Package of 19 Movies from Sony Pictures Television, Inc. for its Sunday Night Movies Franchise". The Futon Critic. December 15, 2008. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2009.