SOAPnet going off the air at end of 2013

Like many a soap opera storyline, the saga of SOAPnet’s ultimate fate has been stretched out for a long time now, with many fans of the channel wondering, “When is SOAPnet going off the air?” ever since word started in 2011 that the network would be ending and making way for Disney Junior.

ABC has confirmed with us that SOAPnet will be ending at the end of 2013, and it doesn’t seem likely to pull the “back from the dead” maneuver that so many characters in soap history have managed.

“SOAPnet goes off the air at 11:59pm Dec 31st” read an email from an ABC publicist, in answer to my request for further information about the fate of SOAPnet and any potential new network homes for soap opera re-airs.

SOAPnet had managed to stay on a few systems over the past few years thanks to the outcry from soap fans, but this finally looks like the end. With very few daytime dramas left on the air, SOAPnet, at the end, was only showing same-day re-airs of Days of Our Lives and General Hospital (The Young and the Restless re-airs went to TVGN earlier this year), along with some very old re-airs of All My Children, which is no longer on the air. Aside from those two soaps, SOAPnet also aired old TV programs like Beverly Hills 90210 and Veronica Mars to fill up its schedule.

But while SOAPnet may not have shown as many actual soap operas as it did during its heyday, the ones it did attracted some decent Twitter conversations among fans during its evening re-airs. So, while the ABC publicist assured me that “Fans can catch GH repeats on abc.com, iTunes, hulu, by DVR’ing, it, etc. … check with NBC for Days info,” and that is all very true, what may end up missing is the sense of community tweeting while first-shifters watch the SOAPnet re-airs all together in the evening.

But soap fans are a hardy bunch, and will likely find a way to live with this development. And SOAPnet was able to at least hang on through the 50th anniversary year of General Hospital, allowing evening viewers to catch up on those events (and perhaps even help draw them back into the show’s daytime airings, as it has had a ratings surge in recent months).

As the intro to a legendary soap informs us, “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.” And after nearly 14 years on the air, the days of SOAPnet’s life are rapidly running out.

What do you think? Will you miss SOAPnet, or are you fine with watching soap opera re-airs online?

SOAPnet goes off the air Dec. 31 at 11:59pm to make way for Disney Junior.

(Note: We’re hearing from some readers that their systems have pulled SOAPnet within the past few days. Other systems such as DirecTV are still airing SOAPnet, but it will be gone on all systems after Dec. 31).

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Ian Buchanan and Finola Hughes in “General Hospital” — Courtesy of ABC