Beech Tree News Network

People have been watching soap operas for years.  The term originated from the soap manufacturers who sponsored early radio and television serial dramas in the 1930’s.  Commercially available electronic TVs came out in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s.  The RCA 630-TS in 1946 was the first mass-produced model.  Therefore, soap operas were pretty much the first sustained thing for television.  

Soap operas were often aimed at homemakers during the daytime, a demographic that also used and purchased soap and detergent products, creating a strong connection between the melodramatic serials and their advertisers.

The “soap” in “soap opera” refers to soap and detergent companies that heavily sponsored these daytime dramas.  Companies like Proctor & Gamble produced and sponsored such shows as Ma Perkins and Guiding Light to promote their products to a female audience.  The “opera” part of the name references the melodramatic and sentimental storylines that characterize the genre.  Although not sung like traditional operas, the dramatic flair and ongoing narratives were reminiscent of of the grand scale of musical operas.  The term first emerged in the late 1930’s to describe these serial radio dramas, with the nickname catching on because the advertising for soap and other household products was a pervasive and integral part of the broadcasts.  The phrase is an example of imitation of earlier terms like “horse opera for Western serials.

The longest-running soap opera of all time was Guiding Light, which began as a 15-minute radio program in 1937 and transitioned to television in 1952, running on CBS until 2009.  The oldest soap opera still in production is ABC’s General Hospital, which has been on the air since 1963.  Guiding Light was one of my great grandmother and grandmother’s favorites. And in case you’re wondering, Guiding Light is, shockingly, NOT on CBS’ streaming app Paramount +.  Below is a breakdown.

Guiding Light was the longest-running soap opera on both radio and television, starting in 1937 and ending in 2009.  General Hospital premiered April 1, 1963 and holds the record for the longest-running soap opera currently in production.  British soap opera Coronation Street is the world’s longest running television soap opera currently in production.  Coronation Street is 65 years old, having first aired on December 9, 1960.  It holds the Guiness World Record for the longest-running television soap opera in the world and continues to air on iTV in Britain.  (www.google.com)  No vlog this week.  I should be back with a new one next week.  Thanks for reading!