 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(August 2015) |
 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | British Sky Broadcasting |
| History | |
| Launched | 3 October 1994 |
| Closed | 30 April 1999 |
Sky Soap was a British and Irish satellite television channel operated by British Sky Broadcasting devoted to American and British soap operas that include Emmerdale Farm , Take the High Road , Families and Albion Market .
When Sky Channel was launched on the Astra satellite on 5 February 1989, the daytime schedule was overhauled and included a block of five soaps. The first, starting at 11.30am from Australia, The Sullivans , which was also still airing in some ITV regions. Next were four American daytime soaps – Another World , which had been airing on the channel since 1987, started at 12.00pm; followed by General Hospital from 12.55pm; and As the World Turns at 1.50pm and finally, Loving in a regular 2.45pm slot. [1] A sixth soap opera, The Young Doctors , was another Australian serial also being broadcast on ITV. Sky Channel initially aired it in an early evening slot at 5.00pm, before switching to mid-afternoon after 6 months, and then finally, at 10:30am, from 1990. [2]
The network changed its name to Sky One on 31 July 1989. The Sullivans, General Hospital and As the World Turns were all dropped, and in November 1990, newer American daytime soaps were added to the line-up: The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless were both inherited from BSB's Galaxy channel [3] following the corporate merger of the two companies, although neither were retained once the 3-year contract with BSB expired in 1993. In February 1991, Sky bought Santa Barbara , which was another soap opera originally broadcast on the ITV network. By 1993, with the addition of Australian soaps E Street and Paradise Beach to the schedules, as well as daytime repeat runs of American primetime series, St Elsewhere and Falcon Crest , the block of daily soap operas on Sky One ran from 10.30am through to 3.30pm.
With the success of Sky One's daytime soap opera block, it was decided in 1994 to create a new, dedicated channel, and Sky Soap began broadcasting on 3 October 1994 from the Astra 1C satellite on weekdays between 8.00am and 12.00pm. [4] The original line-up on the channel consisted entirely of American daytime soaps: a repeat run of the first season of Loving which originally aired on Sky One; Peyton Place (originally aired on ITV, and was replaced by Santa Barbara); plus, a new serial to UK viewers, Guiding Light , premiered, and As the World Turns returned, having aired on Sky One in 1989. Finally, current episodes of Another World , were moved across from Sky One.
The channel didn't attract viewers, and so the broadcast hours were changed to between 12.00pm and 4.00pm. By 1997, Sky Soap was broadcasting from Astra 1B, and the hours were extended to 11.00am to 4.00pm. The only American daytime soaps airing by then were As the World Turns and Guiding Light/
Old episodes of British soaps were added to the line-up from 1 November 1996, beginning with Emmerdale Farm and Take the High Road . A full run of Families was shown from 1 September 1997 until 26 November 1998, with Albion Market then shown from 27 November 1998 to 15 April 1999. Crown Court repeats began on 16 April 1999, just fourteen days before the channel closed.
Poor viewing figures following the launch of Sky Digital led to the channel's closure on 30 April 1999.
A soap opera, daytime drama, or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.
Emmerdale is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale, a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale Farm was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. Interior scenes have been filmed at the Leeds Studios since its inception. Exterior scenes were first filmed in Arncliffe in Littondale, and the series may have taken its name from Amerdale, an ancient name of Littondale. Exterior scenes were later shot at Esholt, but are now shot at a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate.
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How to Survive a Marriage is an American soap opera that aired on the NBC television network from January 7, 1974 to April 18, 1975. The serial was created by Anne Howard Bailey, with much input from then-NBC Vice President Lin Bolen. The show's working title was From This Moment and was an in-house NBC production.
A Country Practice is an Australian television soap opera/serial which was broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on Network Ten from 13 April 1994 to 5 November 1994. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,088 episodes were produced.
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Richmond Hill is an Australian prime time television soap opera made in 1988 by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Ten Network. It was devised by Reg Watson who also created Neighbours. It debuted on 27 January 1988 in a two-hour episode on Network 10 at 7.30pm. The series was only moderately successful and was cancelled on 22 June 1988. A total of 92 episodes were produced. As of March 2021, there has been no DVD Release of Richmond Hill.
Plus was a digital channel run by Granada Sky Broadcasting. It was launched on 1 October 1996 under the original name of Granada Plus, and during its availability it underwent successive rebrands as G Plus, G+ and then simply Plus. However, it remained widely referred to by the public at large by its original name. On 1 November 2004, it was permanently closed down by ITV plc in an attempt to bring its replacement, ITV3, onto Sky.
Sky Television plc was a public limited company which operated a nine-channel satellite television service, launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International on 5 February 1989. Sky Television and its rival British Satellite Broadcasting suffered large financial losses, and merged on 2 November 1990 to form British Sky Broadcasting. A programming merger took effect on 1 December 1990.
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TCM Movies was a British pay television channel, focussing mostly on classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and Warner Bros. film libraries, which included many MGM titles, along with movie-related profiles and some classic American television series.
Now was a British television channel transmitted as part of the British Satellite Broadcasting service during 1990. The channel aired news and current affairs on weekdays and documentaries and arts programmes on weekends.
The following is a list of soap operas from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States that have aired in Australia over the years, in daytime and primetime slots on both free-to-air and pay television.
Lifestyle was a British daytime television channel aimed at women and families. It was broadcast on cable and from February 1989 on transponder 5 of the Astra satellite.
