SoapNet
SoapNet is truly a "network devoted to soaps and you" as they advertise. The soap news show, SoapCenter is hosted by Brooke Alexander (formerly on ATWT) and David Forsyth (John on AW). In addition to speaking with someone from SOD each week to get the scoops, they take fans behind the scenes of events like the Nurses Ball on GH and the "Who's the Daddy" poll on Days. They also cover personal appearances, such as the Days/Passions PA at Universal Studios. The show is filled with interviews regarding generic soap topics like "conflict" and "mortal enemies" as well as lots of clips of all the shows. SoapCenter premiers each Friday night at 8 pm ET/4 PT. It airs repeatedly all weekend and a few times during the week.
As for the soaps, they currently feature episodes of Ryan's Hope, Hotel, Sisters, Knots Landing, and Falcon Crest. They also air the ABC soaps each night. So, you can catch that day's episode at night in primetime and late night. Recently, the network has gone into the soap archives, airing special weeks of "Unforgettable Weddings." These episodes air for a week and are focused around a specific wedding or couple. On week featured Erica Kane's multiple weddings, airing a different wedding each day, with some episodes dating back to the 70s and some from the 90s. Another week featured a PC/GH double wedding between Lucy and Kevin and Mac and Felicia.
The network is currently not a part of many cable lineups. Charter communications is carrying it in some areas and it is also part of the DirectTV lineup. Encourage your cable provider to add SoapNet to its lineup. It's important to encourage viewers to maintain the genre of the soap, in a time where overall soap viewership is declining.
The latest news...
http://www.mediaweek.com/dailynews/broadcast/dnbroadcast20000103-135920.asp
One development media buyers are watching to bring new life to the soap genre is Disney/ABC Cable Networks' SoapNet, the 24-hour network that will launch on Jan. 24. In addition to same-day reruns of ABC's daytime soap lineup, SoapNet will also air classic serials including Falcon Crest, Knot's Landing, Sisters, Hotel, The Colbys and Ryan's Hope. The network will also offer SoapCenter, a show that will appear between regular programming throughout the day, with a weekly half-hour wrap-up on Fridays. SoapCenter will be anchored in New York, with a satellite studio in Los Angeles, and every soap opera&emdash;not just the ABC lineup--will be covered with news stories and behind-the-scenes reports.
ABC attempted to sell ad inventory for SoapNet as part of its upfront daytime packages last spring, but a majority of advertisers have chosen to wait until the network's launch to assess its viability. ABC last month reached a multiyear agreement with DirecTV under which the satellite company will carry SoapNet.
Jon Mandel, co-director of the media buying unit MediaCom, said SoapNet addresses what he calls the "portability" issue by creating a way to reach soap fans who are working during the day. But Mandel added that the new network cannot solve the problem of viewers abandoning the soaps on broadcast networks in favor of other daytime programming.
ABC has inked a deal with DIRECTV for the soap opera cable channel SoapNet. Anne Sweeney, president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks, announced that "SoapNet will now be broadcast nationwide via DIRECTV to millions of viewers who are devoted to soap operas. The DIRECTV agreement ensures instant national reach for this new network." The net debuts January 24, 2000 and will feature same day broadcasts of ABC's AMC, GH, OLTL and PC. Additional programming includes such classic soaps as Ryan's Hope, Knots Landing and Sisters, and an original soap news series, Soap Center.
It looks more and more like NBC won't create a soap channel. The costs are prohibitive as far as they're concerned. The only hope it seems is that NBC could team up with SoapNet and both NBC and ABC soaps could be shown on the network.
Request the SoapCity Soap Channel on your cable system
Previous News
Disney, who owns ABC and will produce one of the upcoming two all-soap cable channels, SoapNet, has announced that their channel will debut on January 24, 2000. SoapNet will feature same day showings of "All My Children," "General Hospital," "Port Charles," and "One Life To Live" in primetime. SoapNet also boasts of a soap news show called "Soap Center."
The other soap channel, SoapCity, is owned by Sony and will show same-day airings of the Columbia-TriStar soaps, "Days of our Lives" and "The Young and the Restless." SoapCity will also run the Procter & Gamble soaps, "As The World Turns" and "Guiding Light," which Columbia-TriStar distributes to international markets. SoapCity is also talking about showing past episodes of "Another World." So far the only details on the premier of this soap channel is early 2000. (From Sherrie)
From the Associated Press (4/8/99)
NEW YORK (AP) - The Disney Corp. said Thursday it will launch a cable television network devoted to soap operas early next year where daytime shows will be repeated in prime-time later the same day. The soap opera channel will air 24 hours a day but its focus will be the prime-time showings of "General Hospital," "All My Children," "One Life to Live" and "Port Charles." "The soap opera channel can be to its fans what ESPN is to sports fans," said Anne Sweeney, president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks.
Some ABC affiliates have opposed the idea, however, fearing that a nighttime airing of soap operas would drive away some of their viewers. But Sweeney said that tests of the channel in Chicago and Houston revealed that it actually drove viewers to the daytime airings because more people got into the habit of watching soaps.
"Women aren't staying home as much as they used to," said Carolyn Hinsey, executive editor of Soap Opera Digest. "They're not folding laundry and watching their grandmother's soap operas. "If they're offered a chance to watch them at another part of the day, I think it can be successful." ABC said the new channel, which hasn't been named yet, is expected to feature movies and some original programming. The channel is set to debut in January 2000.
One potentially fertile ground is rerunning classic shows; three of the current ABC dramas began in 1970 or before.
From The New York Times...
Soap opera fans unable to get their daily fix due to work schedules will soon be able to catch up in the evenings by watching a 24-hour soap opera channel. The new joint venture between Disney and ABC will launch in mid January and will offer same-day reruns of "All My Children," "General Hospital," "One Life To Live" and "Port Charles" in primetime and a mix of movies and original programming the rest of the day. "ABC is the first company to make this available to viewers at potentially a more convenient time," said Anne Sweeney, president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks. "The more important thing of all is this is really based on what is going on in viewers' lives. This is a move really designed to fill a gap."
From Ultimate TV (6/3/98)...
ABC is considering a 24-hour soap channel -- the alphabet net will rebroadcast its daytime dramas on cable systems in three markets as a way to test the concept which will begin July 1 in Chicago, Houston and Charlotte, N.C. The channel, if it goes well, will be called "All My Soaps."
Here's the official press release at SOD Online.
From TV Guide Online...
ABC is taking tentative steps toward launchin an all-soap channel. Starting Wednesday, July 1, the network is rebroadcasting its soaps, Port Charles, All My Children, One Life To Live, and General Hospital, on cable systems in Chicago, Houston, and Charlotte, NC. In Chicago and Houston, the soaps will be repeated the same night and the following morning on a new cable channel called All My Soaps. ABC owns its affiliates in those markets and is working with cable operators TCI and Time Warner, respectively. In Charlotte, where Cox Broadcasting owns the ABC affiliate, the soaps will be seen after a one week delay on TCI's cable system. Although this is only a six month experiment, ABC's affiliates are understandably upset at the prospect of losing loyal soap viewers to cable. "The success of this test will be that we don't cannibalize our audience, but that we bolster our audience numbers,", an ABC Daytime spokeswoman tells TVGEN. "Our aim is to get viewers who aren't able to watch the network at all during the day and get them to watch our shows in the evening." If the experiment is a success, expect ABC to cut a deal with additional local cable operators, eventually leading to a national all-soap channel. (Thanks to Mandy M. for sending this story.)
[My take on this: soap reruns seem to be the latest thing with the networks. Let's hope it catches on. Maybe we could end up seeing those old episodes of our favorite soaps of the past like Santa Barbara (the original "SB"). Earlier this month, DirecTV signed a deal to broadcast Days at night. You can now see Days on weekday evenings and weekends commercial-free.]
For info on receiving the Days broadcasts on DirecTV, see their website.
According to Soap Opera Magazine, April 1997...
Procter & Gamble has inked a three-year deal with Sony's Columbia TriStar Television Group to develop programmind for primetime, daytime and first-run syndication for the 1999-2000 TV season. P&G currently produces AW, ATWT, and GL. In additon to owning Y&R and Days, Columbia TriStar also produces many primetimes shows, such as Mad About You and Wheel of Fortune. The two companies are also thinking of launching a soap opera cable channel.
According to the July 13, 1996 issue of TV guide...
ABC's plans for a 24-hour news channel have been side-lined for now. Included in the deal for the news channel was a soap-opera channel, an unusual side deal designed to give the news operation a needed boost. In order to induce Comcast, a major cable-system operator, to carry the new channel, ABC had agreed to grant the cable company rights to the network's daytime dramas for reshowing in the evening. Their plan for the channel would have included home-shopping during the day and repeats of the ABC soaps in primetime. When it became obvious that the deal wouldn't go through because of financial troubles, ABC quickly retreated from giving up the valuable rerun rights to its soaps.
This current plan may be dead, but the idea for a soap network continues. ABC will have to work with affiliates who fear that evening reruns will cause fewer people to watch their stations during the day. However, according to insiders, Sony Corp. who owns and produces Days of Our Lives has talked with Comcast's programming subsidarary, C3 about working together on a channel. "Sony wants to move forward," says a source involved in the talks. "One way or another, a soap channel could still happen."
The question remains...what would viewers want in a soap channel? Reruns of current soaps, the evening or day after their broadcast, or reruns of greatly missed soaps such as Santa Barbara, Capitol and Search For Tomorrow? Would the plan include other soap-related programs, such as interviews with stars, etc.?