Soap opera Soap opera A soap opera is an ongoing drama serial on television or radio, featuring the lives of many characters and their emotional relationships. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas being sponsored by soap manufacturers. BBC Radio's "The Archers", first broadcast in 1950, is the world’s longest-running radio soap opera; the world's longest-running television soap opera is "Coronation Street", first broadcast on ITV in 1960. The first serial considered to be a "soap opera" was "Painted Dreams", which debuted on October 20, 1930 on Chicago radio station WGN. Early radio series such as "Painted Dreams" were broadcast in
Indian soap opera major networks that air primetime soap operas with national wide are StarPlus, Sony Entertainment Television, Colors TV and Zee TV. Soaps affect Indian society, with regard to national integration, identity, globalisation, women, ethics and social issues in rural areas. The first Indian soap opera, "Hum Log", began as a family planning program, and although it quickly turned its focus to entertainment, it continued to embed pro-development messages which provided a model of utilizing the television serial as an "edutainment" method that was followed by countries around the world. A 2007 study of cable coming to rural India showed that it