Many fans of SOAPnet have recently been concerned over the news that one of their favorite channels would abruptly stop broadcasting its usual programming on March 23, as it made way for the brand new Disney Junior channel. However, sources from SOAPnet have reached out to DisZine to explain that the transition would be more gradual.
While SOAPnet will eventually go away, there will be no “hard stop” to its broadcasts. Rather, SOAPnet and Disney Junior will run concurrently for a period of transition. More information was shared in this article today, which appears in CableFAX:
Now that an exact date has been set for Disney Junior ’s launch (Mar 23), does that mean SOAPnet is gearing up to bid adieu? Not exactly. As the preschool net gm Nancy Kanter told us last month, some operators will carry both Disney Junior and SOAP for a period of time (Cfax, 12/5) . Carriage agreements for Disney Junior have been announced with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Bright House Networks and Verizon, and expectations are that those distributors will continue carrying SOAP until it is no longer available (ie, they’ll likely want to have the same offerings as competitors who haven’t signed deals yet). “We’ve always viewed the launch of Disney Junior as a transition, not a flip of a switch, and as such SOAPnet will remain available for an undetermined period of time as additional carriage deals for Disney Junior are finalized with distributors,” a spokesperson said.
And so it seems that SOAPnet fans will be able to continue watching their favorite shows on the cable network, for the time being, at least.
