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
Soap opera opera parody programs "Echo Beach" premiered alongside its sister show, the comedy "Moving Wallpaper". Both "Echo Beach" and "The Royal Today" ended after just one series due to low ratings. Radio soap opera "Silver Street" debuted on the BBC Asian Network in 2004. Poor ratings and criticism of the program led to its cancellation in 2010. UK soap operas for many years usually only aired two nights a week. The exception was the original "Crossroads", which began as a weekdaily soap opera in the 1960s, but later had its number of weekly broadcasts reduced. Things started to change in 1989